


Redemption (English version)

by Kittendealer



Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Lucifer and Pierce fighting over Chloe, Romance, Secret of Ella, wings reveal
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-09
Updated: 2019-02-04
Packaged: 2019-03-02 20:00:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 41,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13325451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kittendealer/pseuds/Kittendealer
Summary: The night Lucifer discovers Cain’s identity, the two men have a heated discussion that brings as much clarification as new questions. While the Devil struggles with the idea of seducing Chloe once more and tell her everything, she instead tries to take her distance. Meanwhile, a strange investigation could bring out Ella's secret.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! I decided to take a short break in the writing of my other story to write this. The idea of this fic came to me while trying to find explanations for the events of season 3. So this is my take on what’s going on in the show lately. This story therefore picks up immediately at the end of episode 10 of season 3 and is an attempt to reconcile everything we know about the Sinnerman, Cain, and the return of Lucifer's wings. 
> 
> As you might have observed, unlike my other story that I write directly in English, I wrote this one in French first since I’m a French speaker (From Québec, not Europe). So this is a translation and therefore I’m not sure if the result will be better for it, or worse… We’ll see. I hope you’ll enjoy this!

Lucifer felt rage rise inside him from the depths of his being, like the lava of a volcano rising to the surface of the earth and threatening at any moment to cause an eruption that nothing could stop in its path. He poured himself another glass of Scotch to try and control his bubbling emotions. His instinct had not let him down this time. He took a chance, a big chance in trying to prove his theory but it turned out to be right, as disturbing as the truth may be.

Right beside him was the source of all his misfortunes of the last months, the one responsible for the return of his wings, the loss of his devil's face and consequently, his identity. Cain, first murderer of humanity. He was certain now, the Sinnerman was only a tool in this great manipulation, this masquerade. Cain was the one who orchestrated everything. But why? Lucifer's boiling mind could not understand what that millennial being might want. He hadn’t done anything to the man, had never even crossed his path as far as he could tell. In spite of his visceral need to strike this despicable being with all his might to remove that sly grin from his face and relieve himself of all the tension accumulated over the months, Lucifer knew he had to keep his cool at all costs. He needed to get answers to his questions first if he wanted to have any chance of recovering his identity. There would be time to inflict the worst tortures on him later if he turned out to be reluctant to share his plans. This pleasant possibility helped our Devil to calm his ardors enough to continue his reflections.

Beyond the motives of his actions was a question whose answer was even more obscure. How? How did Cain, a human without any celestial power, besides being immortal of course, steal his identity and restore his wings? It didn’t make any sense! A doubt came to trouble the Devil. Could someone else be the real culprit? Another player in this hellish sham? Lucifer looked at Pierce from the corner of his eye for the umpteenth time without breaking the tense silence that enveloped them for the last ten minutes, as if he could find answers to his questions with this simple inquisitive gesture.

To add to his irritation, the man seemed quite calm and serene, imperturbable in front of the barely controlled rage that was coming off the Master of the Underworld. Leaning on the bar next to him, Pierce was peacefully sipping the single malt offered by his host with an appreciative air, seemingly uneager to break this temporary truce. Lucifer realized that he would have to break that silence himself if he did not want to spend all night at it.

With a resigned sigh, Lucifer broke the peace with the question that most gnawed at him. "How did you manage to take my Devil's face from me and restore my wings back?"

Pierce almost jumped at his words and stared at him with the most convincing air of incomprehension. "You had lost your wings?"

Lucifer fulminated with impatience. His eyes would certainly have burned with fury if he had not lost that ability. "As if you didn’t know already! Do not play me, it's too late for that. I know you're the ultimate responsible for my kidnapping and everything that happened to me."

The man frowned as if trying to make sense of the Devil's accusations. "I'm guilty of many things Lucifer, but certainly not of that. I have no idea what happened to your face or your wings, but I know that Damien is responsible for your kidnapping, even if I have no idea what he wanted with you by doing so."

Lucifer took a deep breath and forced himself to exhale all the air in his lungs very slowly to help contain himself. He continued in a low and dangerous voice. "You want me to believe that it is a coincidence if you are now my boss and that one of your acquaintances, this Damien, the Sinnerman I presume, attacked me and stripped me of my identity? You want me to believe that you have nothing to do with it?" The Devil laughed in disbelief.

"You're right, it's not by chance that I'm here but I'm not his accomplice believe me. I came to L.A. to pursue him and put an end to his actions." Pierce looked down at his glass with apparent sadness.

"Looks like you've been successful! Shouldn’t you be happy about your victory? Not only are you now rid of him, but at the same time you've disposed of the only witness who could refute your statements. How convenient! Congratulations on your great achievement!" Lucifer raised his glass in a sarcastic salute.

It was now Pierce's turn to lose his patience. "Do you really think it made me happy to have to kill a man I considered as my own son? Only the Devil could say such a thing! You do not know anything about me! Do not judge me too fast when you don’t even have all the elements in hand."

Lucifer wasn’t a newbie at it, and from his experience Cain's reaction seemed genuine. But he could always be wrong. He had already been fooled by talented liars in the past and this millennial murderer probably had plenty of time to perfect the art of lying during his innumerable years of sins. For Lucifer to agree to give him even the shadow of a doubt, the man should first pass a test. The Devil leaned slowly toward the man and stared at him with a deep penetrating look, as if wanting to see through his soul. "Tell me Cain, what does an immortal man like you desire above all else?"

The man's breathing changed abruptly and became deeper and slower. His irises widened noticeably, incontestable proof that the Devil's powers were working on him, which Lucifer, he had to admit, had at first doubted slightly.

Cain didn’t even seem to try to resist the urge to reveal his most intimate desires and confessed in one breath. "Redemption!" The two men stared at each other for a moment before Cain continued slowly, the emotion palpable in his voice. "I've tried everything!" For millennia, I tried to atone for my sin, and unfortunately I've done many more along the way, even if none of them were as abject as having killed my own brother." He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment at the memory of his vilest crime. 

Lucifer had to admit that the man piqued his curiosity. "You have five minutes to convince me of your innocence. If you do not succeed, I know very convincing ways of convincing you to reveal the truth." He said darkly.

When Cain opened his eyes, it was clear that he was no longer under Lucifer's power. That did not stop him from continuing his confession though. "At first I hated God. I was so filled with rage and frustration that I wanted to indulge myself in my new role as a sinner. So I committed the most despicable crimes, as if the fact of having to undergo this punishment for all eternally gave me the right to do anything I wished. Truth is, I also did it to take revenge over God."

The Devil laughed bitterly. "Yes, my father really has a gift for inducing those feelings in others, and I know what I'm talking about!"  
Cain nodded slowly. "Yes, I believe you are in a good position to understand. Even though, after a few millennia, I finally realized that I had fully deserved my punishment. From that moment on, I helped and gave to others without counting, saved countless lives, put hundreds of criminals in jail, and tried to live according to God's principles. In vain. God has always remained silent in the face of my actions, as if he couldn’t care less about me."

Lucifer could not help laughing again. "Welcome to the club, old chap! My dad doesn’t care about anyone except himself. Maybe we have more in common you and I than I first thought." He added thoughtfully.

Pierce did not seem to like being compared to the Devil, but did not try to defend himself about it nonetheless. "However that may be, even though I had little hope that God would forgive me one day, I have persevered in my principles until today." He paused for a moment as if seeking strength to continue his story. "About 30 years ago, I met Damien when he was only ten years old, about the time his junky parents were slaughtered in front of his eyes for a simple drug debt. After sending the murderers behind bars, I took Damien under my wing and raised him as my son. I thought I could guide him in life to become a good person, but I failed miserably. I’m the only one to blame in all this really..." He finished in a whisper.

Feeling that the rest was going to be particularly difficult to reveal, Lucifer filled the man’s now empty glass again, hoping to help him loosen his tongue a little.

Cain thanked him with a nod and slowly savored a sip of the sweet amber liquid. "You see, Damien was a sensitive young boy, and the death of his parents had affected him very much. I told him early everything about my history and my eternal damnation. Unfortunately, rather than to encourage him to act righteously and comfort him with the knowledge that God actually existed and punished sinners, it drove Damien to hate God for letting his parents die and for punishing me so long ago. Over the years, I saw his soul darken and we grew apart from each other until the day I realized he was calling himself the Sinnerman, a name by which I used to designate myself, and that he tempted the worst sins in men before playing with them. I think it was his way of defying God."

"A few months ago, we found ourselves face to face and he left me with a choice: to kill him or to let him go. I could not resign myself to shoot. I think I still had hope that he could change, however I quickly regretted my weakness afterwards when I learned that he had resumed his activities here in LA, where I knew the Devil had taken residence a few years back. It was too big a coincidence to not have been planned, so I knew I had to stop him at all cost, whatever might be his plan. That day I swore to myself that I would not hesitate the next time I faced him. That’s what I did today. I did not hesitate and I killed him to put an end once and for all to his affronts to God. Even more now that I knew he had arranged to kidnap you, the Devil, of all people, and had brought you to be alone with him this afternoon. I knew he had to have a very good reason to do so. Actually, I can only think of one reason for him to pursue the Devil himself and taunt him so. Damien was not suicidal, quite the opposite. If he did all that, he probably had discovered a way to realize his darkest desire and I had to stop him at all costs. His greatest dream was to become like me: Immortal!"

Lucifer's eyes widened in surprise at this revelation. Could the culprit really have done all that to become immortal? The idea was absurd, but thinking back at the fact that Damien had even burst his own eyes to make sure that the Devil could not discover his deepest desire, the idea was suddenly becoming more plausible than it first appeared, even if Lucifer did not understand the first thing about it. "Even if I believed your words, the idea does not make any sense. How could provoking the Master of Hell help him to gain immortality? I almost killed him and apparently that's what he wanted me to do. Anyway, the only immortal beings, besides yourself and God, are either angels or demons. Only my father can create angels and he has not done so for millions of years. On the other hand, only me or a higher-ranking demon can turn a human soul into a demon and you can be sure that Damien would be the last soul that I would reward so..." The two men suddenly looked at each other in a moment of understanding.

Ideas rushed inside Lucifer's mind. Damien had tried to die from his hands ... he had to know he was destined without the shadow of a doubt to the tortures of Hell as soon as his soul would leave his body and despite that he had taunted the Devil and pushed him to murder him with his own hands ...

In a shudder of fear, Cain verbalized the Devil’s last conclusion. "Damien had to have made a pact with a demon!"

"It's possible." Lucifer replied in a whisper. His heartbeat suddenly accelerated at the implications of that possibility. "But, my wings, my face? A demon could never have done all that. Something doesn’t add up."

"What kind of being could be able to do that then?" You must have an idea, no? Pierce seemed to have himself no opinion on the subject.

The question was simple and the answer should have been just as simple. And yet. "As frustrating as that may be, the truth is I do not know. Had you asked me the same question in any other circumstance and I would have answered that only my Father has that power. But it is absolutely impossible for Him to be responsible for the return of my wings. He hates me! All he's always wanted was to see me rot in Hell for my past actions. He would never do such a thing." His tone was categorical.

Cain stared at him with an air of respect mixed with admiration. He spoke in a barely audible murmur. "Unless you have been forgiven..."

Lucifer recoil visibly, horrified. "This idea is utterly absurd!"

Cain grabbed Lucifer's arm and squeezed it in his agitation. "Think! Surely there is something you have done to deserve redemption. What was it? How did you do it? I must know!" He insisted, full of hope.

Cain's excitement was contagious and Lucifer found himself considering the possibility. He did change a lot over the years, especially since the detective came into his life. Moreover, he had aborted his mother's plans to bring death and destruction to the Silver City and that, the very day he got his wings back. Funny coincidence, he had to admit. To say that he never entertained this possibility would be a lie. Amenadiel suggested it, even Linda, while Lucifer could never resign himself to take the idea seriously. To tell the truth, he felt far from being an angel. His dark past still weighed heavily on him and the little good he had done in the last few years seemed pale in comparison to all the good deeds that Cain had accomplished during millennia. If Cain was never able to win his redemption in the eyes of his Father when he longed for it and did everything he could to earn it, how could Lucifer have done so when he never even asked for it nor done much to prove himself?

Lucifer shook his head vigorously in a final refusal. "It's impossible! What’s more, no matter how I got my wings back and lost my Devil's face, nothing in what you told me can explain why Damien needed me to kill him. Anyways, any death would have led him straight to Hell with the past he had. Why was it so important that I kill this man myself? I'm not a killer. For all my existence I have never killed a human. In fact, I am forbidden to do so, as are all angels, at the risk of..." Lucifer's eyes widened in shock at the realization. Frowning, Cain seemed to hold his breath while waiting to hear what Lucifer just figured out. 

In one breath, Lucifer shared his grim conclusion. "He tried to make me lose my wings ..." The same idea had crossed the Devil’s mind earlier today while facing the Sinnerman. He had then seriously considered killing him to get rid of his wings, but hadn’t been able to go through with it. He now understood that it might be very possible in fact that the Sinnerman had manipulated him for the simple purpose of pushing him to commit the unforgivable: kill a human being!

Cain looked disconcerted. "I don’t understand! Who could benefit from the loss of your wings?"

Despite his dismay at all those dark possibilities, Lucifer chuckled at his interlocutor’s naivety. "The question should rather be: who would not be happy to see the Devil Fall again? If my father is indeed the one responsible for the return of my angelic appearance and my wings, and I still don’t fully support this idea, then you can be quite certain that my brothers, if they ever learned of it, would be ready to do anything in their power to make me lose them again. They will never forgive what I did so long ago. Never!" 

Cain gripped tightly his half-empty glass. "So you think one of your brothers could be behind this whole machination?"

Lucifer had never imagined that his tirade against his brothers would lead the detective to draw this conclusion. "I ... I do not know. I'm sure of nothing." He grabbed his head in his hands and ran his fingers through his hair under the oppressive feeling that he was losing control over the whole situation. Cain remained silent in response to his reaction, apparently not daring to interrupt the Devil's dark thoughts. After a moment, Lucifer's foggy spirit cleared up a bit. "It could mean that one of my brothers used the Sinnerman to make me believe that he was responsible for the return of my wings and of my angelic appearance, to insure that I kill him and provoke my own Fall in the process. Even if this is true, we have no way of confirming these assumptions. Anyway, all those ideas are only conjectures at the moment. On the other hand…, I must admit that considering your obsession with winning your redemption, I still can’t rule out the possibility that it was you all along who tried to make me Fall again." Lucifer cast an accusing look at the damned man. "Out of jealousy maybe, for having apparently succeeded where you have failed all that time?"

The accusation made Cain turn pale. "You can’t speak seriously! I would never do anything to defy God's decisions!" The simple idea seemed to horrify him. "Still, I understand your doubts about me and only time will prove my righteousness. What seems most plausible at the moment is that Damien received information or instructions from a heavenly or demonic being to guide him in his actions. Now if that someone really wants to cause your Fall as it seems, something tells me that he will try again soon. If he attacks you again, then you will know I had nothing to do with any of this."

Just the idea that one of his brothers, or anyone else for that matter, might want to provoke his Fall and could want to try again was enough to rekindle the rage burning inside him. The more he thought about it, the more he believed that it could all be possible. Unable to stay put any longer, Lucifer stood up suddenly, knocking over the bench he was sitting on. His face distorted by indignation and anger, the Devil began to walk up and down under Pierce's stricken gaze.

"By what right could someone manipulate me like this to make me lose my wings and cause my downfall? By what right?" Fists clenched, the Devil shook with rage. "I'm the only one who can decide who I am! You hear me! THE ONLY ONE!" The Devil was almost screaming now. "None of my brothers have that right, nor even my Father, and certainly not a demon or a pathetic human like the Sinnerman. No one can decide for me if I want to be an angel or the Devil! I fought long enough to get the right to free will, and I'm not going to give it up now. If I want those wings, I'll keep them! Nobody will force me to get rid of them!"

Cain seemed utterly confused. "You mean you're happy to have your wings back then? I was under the impression that..."

Lucifer stopped short in his pacing and glared at him. "That’s not the question! No one but me has the right to decide if I DESERVE them back!" At that very moment, Lucifer thought his words had probably gone beyond his thoughts. However, he quickly realized that in those words resonated a disconcerting truth that he never had the courage to face before that moment. The truth was that he didn’t believe he deserved his wings back. Much less redemption!

The heavy silence that ensued showed Lucifer that the detective didn’t fail to understand the implication of his words. Pierce turned respectfully his gaze away to let the Devil wrestle alone with his demons.

After a long moment of tense silence, Cain confided again to him with a weak, almost vulnerable voice. "You know... I'm not sure either to deserve redemption, but I need to believe that someday I will have changed enough to make it happen. The idea of continuing to wander like this for all eternity is unbearable. Only the hope of crossing one day the gates of Heaven still allows me to stay sane." His voice cracked on his last words.

Lucifer had a hard time understanding why Cain's words affected him so much, why he felt an oppression that almost prevented him from breathing. After all, they both had absolutely nothing in common. Lucifer was not wandering, he was going where he wanted when he wanted. He certainly did not want his Father's forgiveness either, nor to return to the Silver City, this boring place where everyone only thought of accomplishing his Father’s desires. No! None of this applied to him! Or did it?

Finally, the Devil slowly returned to sat at the bar after straightening the bench lying on the floor. Seeing that his hands were shaking slightly, he poured himself another glass of Scotch that he swallowed in one gulp in the hope it could helped him regain control over his emotions. In spite of himself, a question kept invading his mind. Could his Father really have forgiven him? After all this time? Lucifer shook his head vigorously to try and get rid of that absurd idea. Those thoughts would get him nowhere anyway. It was certainly not the time to worry about existential questions when he had to deal with Cain's case.

Unless the fallen man was an amazing actor, Lucifer could only believe in his desire for redemption. This made the detective appear suddenly much friendlier in his eyes. It would become harder for the Devil to hate him now. Too bad! Suddenly, one of the reasons why Lucifer had begun to despise the Lieutenant came back to his mind: Chloe!

The Devil clenched his jaw at the memory of the way Chloe was looking at Pierce lately. She had feelings for the man, he was sure of it. Which ones though? He could not say exactly, but there certainly was affection at the least, possibly more, and definitely admiration. Lucifer felt his heart squeeze in pain at the thought that he could lose her at the benefit of this unworthy being. A small inner voice reminded him that the fallen angel that he was could hardly be better than the damned man sitting beside him. No matter, he would not let Cain take his place at her side. Never! But how could he insure that? An idea slowly formed in his mind. Yes, he could probably arrange everything and make sure that Chloe wouldn’t continue to develop feelings for their superior.

Lucifer slowly turned his head towards Cain to gauge him. He would have to negotiate carefully with the situation if he wanted to win. He reminded himself that there was no reason for him to be so nervous because after all, no one dealt better than the Devil. He took a deep breath before starting what could become one of the most important deal of his life. "I believe in your desire for redemption and I want to help you reach it."

Cain couldn’t hide the surprise nor the hope that the Devil’s words were creating in him. "You really think you can help me?"

The Devil carefully chose his words. "To tell you the truth, I do not yet know how I can help you. Nonetheless, I am ready to promise that I will do everything in my power to help you reach Heaven."

Cain considered his words for a moment. "Of course, if I accept your vague promise of help, I imagine you will be asking something from me in return?"

"It goes without saying! My services must always be repaid someday."

Cain seemed to hesitate, even if only for a brief moment. "What do you want in return?"

"Very little really! Nothing of much importance for a man like you. In return for my assistance and my promise not to expose your false identity to those around you, I'm just asking you to stop showing interest in Detective Decker." Lucifer tried to control his voice to sound as disinterested as possible.

Cain's eyes widened in amazement. "Excuse me? You must be joking? Is that really your price?"

"Absolutely! And I could not be more serious!" Lucifer anxiously waited for the man to accept the deal, for he could not even conceive a refusal.

"I'm sorry! I cannot agree to this deal!" Cain looked as if he had a hard time believing he just refused.

Lucifer was speechless. "What...? Why...? I do not understand!"

With a dreamy smile Pierce explained himself. "You see, as disturbing as it may be for me, I must admit that Chlo ... Detective Decker, quickly became very important to me. She is special! As you must have realized. At least she is to me. With her, I find the strength to surpass myself and the desire to become a better man. She makes me feel good like no one has ever done before. I don’t want to... I can’t, stay away from her willingly." Seeing the dismayed reaction of the Devil, the fallen man tried to clarify. "I'm not doing this against you Lucifer, I'm doing it for myself, because I am in tremendous need of it. If I have to walk this earth forever, I would like to say that for a moment at least, I knew what redemption might feel like. You may not be able to understand, but I have the impression that she could bring me that feeling, if only I had the courage and the chance to seize this opportunity."

If he understood? Of course he understood? But Chloe Decker was HIS redemption! She was created for HIM! And HE alone! She was HIS miracle! HIS soul mate! Not that damned man’s redemption! Lucifer's breathing quickened and he had the sudden impression that he was going to lose consciousness under the avalanche of emotions that the man's words were triggering. He tried to control his shaking voice. "Chloe Decker is MINE! I will not let you have HER!" He was overtaken by anger.

Cain seemed to understand that the situation was on the brink of degenerating seriously for he answered very calmly by appealing to the Devil’s deepest convictions instead of challenging him. "You who believe so much in free will, don’t you think she has the right to choose which one of us she really wants?"

Lucifer winced in heartbreaking pain. The bastard! He was playing the card of free will, against the Devil? In spite of it, Cain's argument could not have been more effective. Lucifer could only agree with him. Chloe had the right to choose! "You're right, we should let Chloe decide which one of us she really wants by her side."

In any case, the fact that she was his miracle, specially designed for him, should undoubtedly ensure that she would come back to him instantly the moment he decided so. After all, his Father had already taken away Chloe's ability to decide for herself when it came to her emotions towards Lucifer. Wasn’t it? However, the memory of Chloe's tender gaze when looking at Piece lately gave life to a horrifying doubt. What if she chose Cain? What if she always had free will, even with him? He felt both panic and hope rise inside him at the mere thought of this possibility.

Seeing that the Devil agreed with his reasoning, Cain made his counteroffer. "However, in exchange for your assistance, I offer you my help to fight back this enemy who is trying to make you lose your wings. Your Father's gift is way too precious to risk that someone took it from you."

Lucifer only took a brief moment to think about this offer. It would be up to him now to win back Chloe’s love. "Deal!"


	2. Revelation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I find myself quite disappointed with the turn of events of the last episode. I am therefore even happier to have started writing this story, which I find ultimately more logical than what we were presented this week in the episode to explain the involvement of Cain and the Sinnerman in Lucifer’s abduction. So I continue this story in my own way, hoping that you will like it and find the reactions and thoughts of each characters appropriate and believable. Good reading!

That morning, Lucifer felt terribly anxious while queuing in front of the counter at the Starbuck coffee. He still didn’t fully trust Cain following their long conversation of the previous night, but the clues really did suggest that the actual culprit behind the Sinnerman's actions against him, was in fact one of his feathered brothers and not the fallen man. In all appearances, one of them was trying to make him fall again. As if their Father could ever forgive his past actions! That, he would never manage to believe! The more Lucifer thought about it, the more he believed that if his Father really was behind the return of his angelic appearance, then His intention was certainly to manipulate him rather than forgive him. On the other hand, one of his brothers could very well have misinterpreted His intentions and undertaken to prove Him that Lucifer still deserved to be punished. A reaction so typical of his siblings! He should have thought about it before.

Now it was up to him to discover which of his brothers could have been both close enough to God to know that He intended to give him back his wings, and twisted enough to make a deal with a demon in order to reward the Sinnerman of his actions, by granting him a demonic immortality. He already had some names in mind of course, although there was no way to verify his suspicions at the moment. He would have to wait for the villain to attack him again or to make a mistake to unmask him and punish him accordingly. In doing so, he intended to send a clear message to his entire depraved family: no one decided for the Devil! He alone could determine who he was!

Although this threat against him was very real and dangerous, that was not what most bothered our Devil at the moment, but rather the possibility that a certain detective could definitively turn her back on him for the benefit of a man barely worthier than he was. Lucifer ran his hands through his hair for the umpteenth time in despair, at the thought that he was probably about to lose her for good. He could not imagine his life without her anymore. How could things have gotten so wrong between them?

He had thought to be doing the right thing by turning down Chloe's advances, in the hope of giving her back the freedom to choose and live her life as she pleased. He also believed he had planned everything successfully to remain at least her partner, since he knew he could never hope to become more to her, as he had dreamed of. Yet, now everything seemed about to collapse around him. The mere thought of Chloe falling in love with Pierce was causing him unbearable physical pain, as if his heart was literally ripped from chest.

He had the horrible feeling of having made a monumental mistake with her. Could it really be possible that Chloe always had free will with regard to her feelings for him? This hope was for Lucifer as a ray of light in the dark night and the ultimate possibility for him to one day taste a semblance of redemption. Unfortunately, if that were the case, the only way for him to be absolutely certain would be if Chloe finally choose Cain, and that would also mean that he would lose her forever. What a sick joke! Only his father could master such a cruel plan.

Last night, Lucifer was convinced he should at all costs win back Chloe's heart, but this morning in the light of day, he was not so sure anymore. What if he was wrong? What if the fact of declaring his love for her was the equivalent of taking away her free will? Did he only have the right to take this chance? Would he be more able to bear seeing her in the arms of another? Those questions tormented him and tore him apart unceasingly, without his being able to find any answer. His only certainty at the moment was that he could never survive if she pushed him away completely from her life. He should therefore at least beg her to forgive him for having so often let her down lately, in a way to reinforce their partnership and revive this beautiful connection that so rightfully characterized them not that long ago.

For the rest, he was not ready yet to decide. Chloe's happiness was far too important for him to afford to take such a crucial decision lightly. Before he really tried to win back Chloe's heart, he would have to find a way to prove that she really had the power to choose in that matter. Such a means should exist, he only had to find it. To begin with, he hoped that Chloe's reaction to the apology he was about to make could perhaps help to make it all a little bit clearer for him. He probably still had some time in front of him to decide anyway. Had he not?

"Mr. Morningstar, how can I please you this morning?"

Lucifer jumped at the mention of his name. He suddenly realized that it was his turn to place his order. His preoccupations prevented him from noticing Jenny's barely veiled innuendo and all the efforts the pretty lady was deploying to seduce him. Distractedly, he ordered for his detective a latté he knew to be her favorite, while he took a mocha for himself. Such an attention could surely help to make the detective more willing to listen to his excuses. At least he hoped so. He finally thanked Jenny with a forced smile before leaving, without giving even a glance in her direction, to the greatest displeasure of the pretty girl.

It was with an unbearable apprehension that Lucifer finally came down the stairs of the precinct and walked determinately toward Chloe's desk, brandishing his coffees by way of a white flag. As he expected, she was already there, working over some reports, no doubt the Sinnerman’s case fiasco. The sight of his detective, still as resplendent as ever, threatened to make him completely lose control over his boiling emotions. He briefly closed his eyes, then took a deep breath in a final effort to regain control of himself before embarking on this desperate quest for reconciliation.

Chloe seemed to pretend not noticing him when he stopped in front of her, displaying his brightest smile. She didn’t even look up when he cleared his throat to announce his arrival. Caught a little off guard, Lucifer thought it had probably be a good idea to arm himself with a present this morning.

"Heuuu! Hello Detective! What a beautiful morning to fill in reports! The ordeal will undoubtedly be much more pleasant with your favorite latté that is right here. No, do not thank me, I know how wonderful I am!" He attacked with the most joyful air.

Chloe didn’t even deign to look up at him. "What are you doing here Lucifer?" There is no new case, so your expertise is not required, you can go back to your machinations." She abruptly signed at the bottom of a page before flipping it and beginning to fill in another part of the report. 

He certainly expected her to begrudge him for his behavior of the last day, but he could never have expected such coldness on her part. He gaped for a moment before regaining his senses. "I'm here to help you of course Detective. I know you must be collapsing under the weight of all the paperwork with the Sinnerman’s case, so I'm at your entire disposal to help close this case as quickly as possible. I wouldn’t want you to have to come back this weekend to finish it."

Chloe finally raised her cold eyes on him. "It won’t be necessary Lucifer! I'm sure I can manage it on my own. Knowing you, your help would more likely delay me rather than benefit me anyway."

Was he dreaming or was she kicking him out? "But Detective, you will definitely need your adorable partner and his therapeutic humor to survive through this day, which promises to be quite monotonous otherwise. Don’t you think?" He pleaded plaintively with hope.

Instead of making her smile, his comment seemed to irritate her even more. "Lucifer!..." She started with angry eyes, before stopping short and switching her gaze a little to look over his shoulder.

Intrigued, he turned around to come face to face with Lieutenant Pierce. The latter seemed to do his best to prevent a smile from appearing on his face at the sight of Chloe, but the Devil was not fooled, he saw that the damned man’s face had lighted up as soon as his eyes fell on her. Lucifer refrained a grunt of frustration even though his grimacing face had to be talkative enough.

Fully ignoring the Devil, Pierce spoke directly to the detective as if he was continuing a conversation started earlier. "I have a little setback! There's something I need to focus on first this morning, but I could tell you about that case a little later. Over lunch maybe? I know a good little restaurant not far from here. What do you say? "

The detective seemed taken aback for a fraction of a second before recovering quickly. "Sounds great!" Chloe smiled a little bit too much to the Devil’s taste. "Then I can give you my opinion, maybe it will help you in this investigation." She added while casting a nervous glance towards Lucifer, as if to justify herself.

"Excellent! I'll let you know when I'm done with all that." There was no doubt now in the Devil's mind, Pierce was definitely smiling and wasn’t even trying to hide it anymore. 

Suddenly filled with panic, Lucifer looked at Chloe as she watched the Lieutenant walk away. That sweet look, that half smile... No! No! No! No! No! It all had to be a horrible nightmare! Everything was going way too fast for him. Pierce seemed to be gaining points at an exponential rate while he himself was still at the stage of trying to get back into his detective’s good graces. Stage that was apparently still far from being won yet.

He tried to put his ideas in order to find a way to be forgiven quickly, but jealousy prevailed and took control over his words. "Detective, I thought there wasn’t any new homicide case. Did you lie to me? And what is it about working with Pierce? I’m the one who is your partner, not him! "

The detective returned her gaze back to the report in front of her. "No Lucifer, I didn’t lie to you! Pierce only wants me to give him an outside opinion on a case that some of our colleagues were about to shelve for lack of new leads."

Lucifer let out a sigh of exasperation. "Don’t be so naïve as to think that it's your opinion he is interested in! Don’t you see that all he's trying to do is to seduce you so you’ll fall into his bed? Don’t let yourself be fouled by his little game! "

Chloe raised her head sharply to stare at him with an outraged and hurt look. "How dare you say such a thing? Lieutenant Pierce is one of the most professional person I know, and at least HE seems to have confidence in my investigative skills. You've just proven to me once again how much you do not trust me. But I shouldn’t be so surprised ..." She shook her head, grimacing sadly. "... after all, you’ve been showing me for months now, again and again, how unworthy of your trust I am. To be honest, I've come to a point where I realize that I do not trust you anymore either to cover my back." Her voice almost broke on those last words.

Lucifer was completely bewildered. "Detective! You can’t really believe what you're saying! I trust you more than anyone and, believe me, no one is more concerned about your protection and well-being than I."

"Those are just words Lucifer! Unfortunately, your actions say the exact opposite!" She was having trouble looking him in the eyes now, avoiding his gaze as if to hide the pain that was now easily readable in her features.

At that moment, he finally understood. He had hurt her! More than he could have ever imagined. To the point where she had lost all confidence in him. His panic redoubled in intensity. He really was losing her! He could literally see the wall she was building around herself in order to push him out of her life. Maybe it was already too late! "Detective ... I ..., I know I acted like the greatest idiot! I just came to apologize, not fight with you. I owe you an apology for acting behind your back with the Sinnerman, and for having let you down so many times lately, even forcing you to have to rely on the Lieutenant to cover your back. But it's over now, I promise you that I'll be the perfect partner you need and in whom you can have complete trust." He hoped that she could discern all the sincerity in his words.

The detective chuckled bitterly. She tried to keep the tone of her voice down enough not to be overheard by her other colleagues, although she could already notice that some of them were giving curious glances in their direction. "Do you really believe that you can do whatever you want, whenever you want, and that I will forgive you as soon as you express the smallest remorse, or that you sing me a beautiful love song? That's not how it works! Trust has to be earned Lucifer, and it can also be lost. Unfortunately, you are giving me no reason to trust you lately." She rose from her chair and slowly approached him by going around her desk to come and face him. They were now only inches apart from each other. Lucifer could only stare at her in silence, unable to reply anything. She went on in a serious and accusing tone. "I put my career on the line when I agreed to follow you in this stupid idea of kidnapping the Sinnerman, because I trusted you. If it wasn’t for Lieutenant Pierce, I would probably have already lost my job by now, all because of your devouring egoism. In the end, there is only one person who really matters to you, and it is yourself Lucifer! " The accusation was brutal and unequivocal.

Lucifer opened and closed his mouth a few times without finding any word to explain himself. He wanted to shout that he was crazy about her, that he had already died for her, had even killed his own brother to save her, and that he was ready to do anything to ensure her happiness, even put his own aside. And what good was there to try and explain how he had search to protect her by trying to eliminate the Sinnerman? He had already tried this approach with her the day before without her believing any of it. Moreover, deep inside, he knew that was not the whole truth anyway, but only part of it. The truth was, he had been blinded for months by the idea of revenge against the Sinnerman for stealing his identity and giving him his wings back, although he now knew the man probably had nothing to do with that in the end. His blindness had made him lose sight of what mattered most in his life. Her!

Chloe nodded quietly in front of his revealing silence. "That's what I thought ... Listen, I think we both need to take a step back, take a break from each other. Go home Lucifer, Lieutenant Pierce agreed to work temporarily with me until I see more clearly into this. "

Lucifer had trouble finding his voice back, and it was only in a whisper that he asked her, "It's over then? You are getting rid of me?"

Chloe seemed to hesitate, confused. "I don’t know! All I know right now is that I need to think about all this, and you too Lucifer. Please, leave now!"

Reality seemed to rock around him for a moment, as if he suddenly found himself in a dream, or rather a nightmare. Ambient sounds seemed to get duller and the images cloudier. Everything seemed to be moving slowly around him during a moment of pure panic. It had happened! He had lost her! There was no doubt in his mind. How could he blame her anyway? He hurt her, went behind her back, and had done it without any consideration for what she could think or feel. It was all his fault really and it was now too late to repair the damages.

Slowly, reality resumed its normal course around him. He barely nodded, devastated. He slowly turned away from the detective before becoming aware of the two coffees he still held in his hands. Turning halfway, he put the latté in front of Chloe without a word, then walked away heavily towards the precinct’s exit and this new reality that would be his from now on. A reality in which Chloe Decker would never be a part of anymore.

He couldn’t tell how he got there. He had no recollection of driving his car, nor even of the road separating this place from the precinct. Yet, here he was, getting out of his car and walking toward the building. The feeling of being in a dream now enveloped him completely and prevented him from thinking or formulating a single coherent thought other than the one reminding him that he had really lost forever the only person he had ever truly loved. Walking now as if through an opaque fog, he didn’t realize either that he had entered her office without knocking. It was almost a surprise for him when he finally found himself facing Linda, unable to formulate even a single word.

To his great relief, Linda seemed to understand that the moment was serious, for he found himself sitting on the couch in less than a heartbeat, while his shrink was diplomatically getting rid of the patient with whom she was conversing on his arrival.

It took him a moment to really hear his friend's words. Apparently, Linda was trying to keep her tone calm and professional, although there was some uneasy anxiety about her, in the face of Lucifer's apparent state of shock.

"Lucifer, what happened?" Linda repeated the question several times, before drawing the Devil's gaze on her and pulling him out of his muteness.

He realized with surprise that Linda was sitting next to him on the couch, and even held his hand as a sign of support. "I ... I lost her!" He said in a barely audible voice.

Linda seemed to pale at hearing his words. She put a hand to her mouth as if to refrain a sob. "Has anything happened to Chloe?" She was afraid to hear his answer, because such devastation in Lucifer could probably only mean that.

"What?" Utter incomprehension could be read on his face. After a moment, he seemed to understand her question. "No! Nothing bad happened to her... Probably more the opposite, according to her point of view at least... She... She doesn’t want to see me anymore! It's all over! I've lost her forever!" He explained in a sob, grabbing his head in his hands.

In spite of herself, Linda let out a sigh of relief at the confirmation that her friend was well. On the other hand, the apparent devastation of Lucifer was well understandable now and she realized that he would need all her help to recover from this ordeal. But what could have happened between them for Lucifer to be so certain that his relationship with the detective was over?

Linda shook her head as if to clear her mind, before resuming her role as a therapist. "Lucifer, calm down and tell me everything that happened from the beginning."

Lucifer's explanations were long, disconnected, and tedious. He had a hard time formulating complete sentences and constantly went from cock to donkey, which made his story difficult to follow. It was only after a long time of exchanges, that Linda finally had the impression of understanding what was happening, although the reality seemed to exceed the fiction in this situation. Cain did exist? He was Lucifer's superior and had an interest in Chloe? Not so surprising, she mused, considering that both of them were God’s miracles in a way. She refrained from verbalizing that last thought to Lucifer though, at the risk of making him sink even deeper.

Linda tried to put all those thoughts about Cain aside for now, because the heart of the problem wasn’t there at the moment. She turned her attention to the most important element explaining Lucifer's desperation. "But why do you say that everything is over between you two? Did she not rather say she wanted to think about the situation and needed to get a break from your partnership to take a step back?"

The Devil laughed in disbelief. "Come on Doctor! I'm not so naive! After all this time, I know humans well enough to read between the lines, and the detective simply weighed her words so as not to hurt me too much. After all, that’s not her style to hurt people without consideration. But the message was still loud and clear. I've gone too far this time, and she is done with me now."

"You clearly hurt her and she blames you for that. I concede you that point, which is quite understandable in fact, everything considered. I probably would have reacted exactly like her if you had acted that way with me." Lucifer looked surprised by her admission. To tell the truth, Linda herself was surprised by her own words. She was struggling to stay professional with Lucifer, torn between her role as a friend and as a therapist. "Anyway, she may be angry with you, but nothing you tell me confirms that she has definitely pushed you out of her life."

"Have you not been listening to anything I said?" The Devil in him stirred to break loose. "Chloe and Pierce are teaming together now! She doesn’t need me anymore. It seems you've been right from the beginning Doctor, apparently Chloe always had her free will with me and today, she's exercised it. Don’t you see it's too late? She chose Pierce!" He finished in a weak and fragile voice. An inevitable finality resounding in his words.

Linda had never seen him so defeated and broken. The friend she was for him prevailed over her role as his therapist once more. At that moment, she would have liked nothing more than take him in her arms to console him, but she knew full well that on the contrary, what he probably needed most right now was to be shaken unceremoniously. As a friend, she wasn’t doing to overlook that responsibility.

She threw herself into a tirade with a tone of reprimand. "Lucifer Morningstar! You might be a millennial being of remarkable intelligence, but you have the emotional intelligence of a five-year-old!" Lucifer opened his mouth without making a single sound, frozen with consternation at the reproachful words coming from his therapist. She continued unceremoniously. "Chloe may have budding feelings for Pierce, and yet there is nothing less certain, but the feelings she has for you are unquestionably real and extremely strong, the proof being precisely her intense reaction to your inconsiderate behavior of the last months. You seem ready to throw in the towel on your relationship with her when you should stand up and fight to prove how much you care about her!"

Lucifer received it as a slap in the face. Linda's words seemed perfectly logical, though she apparently forgot one of the most important details. "But... she doesn’t trust me anymore! How could she come back to me if she can’t even trust me?" Even though Lucifer still seemed dejected, a glimmer of hope could be seen in his eyes.

Linda pulled herself together, thinking it was probably time for her to return to her therapist role now and let him come to his own conclusions. "And what are you going to do about it Lucifer?"

"Uh, I don’t know, it's probably already too late to do anything to change that fact now!" Linda replied with a simple frown that made it clear he was on the verge of unleashing a new volley of non-therapeutic statements from her. He seemed to receive the message loud and clear, for he began to think aloud instead of complaining, to make a change. "Chloe has all the reasons in the world for not trusting me really, I spend my time hiding the truth from her, even though I have never lied to her."

"Did you not said, not so long ago, that you had the intention of telling her the whole truth about your identity?" Linda felt he was on the right track. All that remained was to help him draw his own conclusions.

"Yes of course, but it was before I lost my Devil appearance. If I tried to prove who I am now, she would certainly draw false conclusions out of it." Lucifer was really horrified at the thought that Chloe could think him to be an angel.

Linda softened her voice to give weight to her words. "Not if you're totally honest and open up completely to her Lucifer, trust her, she knows you better than anyone."

Realization finally hit him. Honesty was the key to regaining Chloe's trust! The first step was proving her all the trust he had in her by finally revealing her his identity. As a result, she would be better able to understand his behavior of the last months, and thus forgive him. The way he saw it, two possibilities could come out of this, either such honesty could lead Chloe to renew her trust in him, or it could drive her even further away from him.

Linda saw in Lucifer's eyes all the different emotions that went through him as he finally reached his own conclusions. She could almost hear him thinking. Displaying at first real hope, he then went through uncertainty, before settling on fear. Always the same fear of being rejected, as he had so brutally been, so long ago, by all those he had loved and in whom he had put his trust.

In front of his indecision, Linda could not help but point out a disturbing truth. "At this point Lucifer, do you really have anything more to lose?"

With a distant air, Lucifer answered weakly. "No, I guess not Doctor!"

Linda was right, he really had nothing more to lose by revealing his true nature to Chloe. A sense of certainty enveloped him suddenly, sweeping away in the process all remaining doubt in his mind. Come what may, tonight, he would tell Chloe everything, and by doing so, put his fate into her hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think Chloe should have reacted more strongly in the series, in response to the egocentric behavior that Lucifer has shown in recent months. But I assure you, I am a romantic! So keep hope! In my opinion the situation between them had to fester before it could improve. So there is hope at the horizon for our favorite duo in this story. Thank you for sharing your comments and thoughts!


	3. An Unorthodox Proposal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! It took me longer to write this chapter because of personal problems that slowed me down, but once I got to it finally, I couldn’t stop writing. As a result, I have way too much material for a single chapter and had to split it in two. The good news is that next chapter is already finished too, I just have to translate it from French. It should take me less than a week to get it out. The French version should be out soon too but my Beta is sick at the moment, poor Bebec! so it will have to wait a bit, just to make sure of the quality of the final version. I unfortunately don’t have a Beta for my English works as you might have noticed already…  
> Thank you for all the comments, kudos and such, the reaction to this story has been wonderful! A special thanks to WhoLocke who gave me an amazing idea for my plot. I just hope you will like how it turns out.  
> Just so you all know, I have worked on that plot for weeks so if you notice something similar to what you just saw in the show a couple weeks ago it just means I got close to the real thing and not that I used it to write this story. Or maybe the show writers got into my head… @@

Chloe took advantage of a moment of distraction from Pierce to really look at him. Admire him would probably be a more appropriate term. The detective's gaze followed the curves of his face hardened by life, scrutinizing each of his features with care, then slowly descended to rest on his divinely carved body.

He really was a handsome man!

But beyond his physical beauty, Chloe could discern an inner flame in him that fascinated and attracted her even more than his physical appearance. This man was special and she felt privileged to realize that he was gradually opening up to her.

In recent months, his openness to her had been most sporadic. To say the least. Of apparent coldness with her the vast majority of the time, he had nonetheless surprised her at times by confiding in her and lowering his guard momentarily to let her discover an unsuspected side of him, sweeter and more sensitive. Chloe surprised herself by wishing to see more of it in the future. To the greatest amazement of the young woman, it was this facet of himself that Pierce had been showing her repeatedly ever since this morning.

But why this sudden change of attitude? What should she understand of it? The possible answer to that question was far too disturbing for her to consider seriously at the moment.

Pierce suddenly looked up from his plate while continuing to chew on his mouthful of food. Chloe smiled at him softly and he answered her with a sincere smile that lit his eyes. Never had he looked at her so softly before today, but now she couldn’t count the times he had contemplated her this way since this morning. He continued staring at her like that without any embarrassment or apparent desire to conceal his obvious happiness at being in her company. Butterflies started to form in her stomach under the intensity of his gaze.

Something was definitely going on between them, although Chloe couldn’t yet figure out exactly what it was. Pierce was showing an undeniable interest in her. Interest she was afraid to misinterpret though. And what about her interest for him? It was still way too early in their relationship for her to be sure. Anyways, was she only ready to consider having a non-professional relationship with him?

All things considered, it never turned out very well for her to allow herself to act on her feelings with a colleague. After all, her marriage with Dan turned out to be a fiasco and Lucifer... Well, let’s just say that she had paid dearly for her attraction to him and apparently still continued to pay.

Lucifer…

Her thoughts turned to her partner once more. She hadn’t only felt strong feelings for him, she had been madly in love with him and had even believed for a moment that he felt the same way about her.

How naive had she been!

Lucifer was apparently unable to love anyone except himself, as he had already proven to her on many occasions. 

Chloe tried to suppress the vestiges of love she still felt for him as deep inside herself as she could. She really had to turn the page and forget about him. She hoped the pause she was trying to impose on their partnership could help her take her distance from him, both physically and emotionally. The distance between them had already started growing since Lucifer’s failed marriage with Candy, and Chloe could not stand anymore being hurt by him ever since, whether he did it consciously or not.

Lucifer's wounded face when she asked him to leave earlier this morning came back to her mind. He had seemed so vulnerable at that moment, so devastated. This time, it was she who had hurt him. She thought she should probably feel some satisfaction at having given him a taste of his own medicine for once, but such a feeling was impossible for her and she even found herself feeling guilty of the pain she had apparently inflicted on him. And yet, what else could she have done for him to finally understand that she could not go on like this? She only hoped not to have to erase him completely from her life in order to finally regain control over it. 

For a brief moment, she felt panic rise inside her at the possibility of Lucifer never being part of her life ever again.

She suddenly felt Pierce put a gentle hand on hers to bring her back to reality. With a slight start, the detective redirected her gaze on him.

"Are you okay?" You seemed so far away all of a sudden." He asked softly with an almost worried look.

Chloe slapped herself internally. Of course Pierce realized her thoughts had strayed. As if it was the right time to think about her devilish partner. The Devil really had a gift for imposing himself at the worst possible moments.

She hurriedly answered him. "Yes! Yes! I’m all right! I only have a lot on my mind these days." Which actually wasn’t really a lie. She punctuated her statement with a smile that was supposed to be reassuring. 

Chloe could not help but look down on Pierce's hand for a fraction of a second, which was still lovingly covering hers. Not knowing whether she wanted to dissuade or encourage him in his approach, she chose instead to ignore this carnal contact without however breaking it.

After a few seconds of watching her silently with that intense and destabilizing look, Pierce finally withdrew his hand from hers while displaying his most devastating smile before undertaking to finish his meal.

Chloe only realized then that she was holding her breath and that her heart was beating faster in her chest.

What the hell was happening?

Every passing second, she really felt more and more like they were both going down a dangerous path that she was not sure she was ready to explore. Chloe felt embarrassment color her cheeks before clearing her throat a few times to regain her countenance and the use of her voice.

"Hmmm, and what case did you want to talk to me about?" It seemed more prudent to divert the conversation on their work rather than risk going into too intimate subjects.

The effect of her words was almost automatic. In no time, Chloe felt the Lieutenant in Pierce take over. With his usual professionalism back in place, he began to expose this famous problematic case without needing more prompting from her.

"Right, I almost forgot about it. That’s what we’re here for after all." He reminded himself sheepishly. "The case is what actually appears to be the suicide of two police detectives in LA’s area, who took place only days apart about a month ago. The suicide of two police officers in such a short period of time raised questions from their superiors and that's how those files eventually ended up on my desk. They thought it would be best to have outside detectives investigate on it instead of ones who knew the victims."

"It was rather a wise choice indeed." Despite her comment, Chloe was uncomfortable with the idea of investigating other police officers. The Palmeto case had turned her life upside down and she could only be reluctant to risk reliving something similar.

Pierce didn’t seem to notice her discomfort however, and continued. "So I assigned the case to Stevenson and MacKey who discovered strange facts. Although the victims didn’t work at the same station and apparently didn’t know each other either, they did have some things in common. The first victim, Brad Miller, was married and had a sick little girl whose medical treatments were very expensive, so the man was choking under debts. After his death, all the medical bills were miraculously paid for by an anonymous source and a bank account was opened under the girl’s name in which the pretty sum of 500,000$ was deposited to cover for her future treatments. All attempts at tracing the source of this money were unsuccessful."

"Kirt Lowinsky, the second victim, was crumbling under gambling debts and had lost everything. First his house and all his possessions, then his wife and three children who were refusing to talk to him for more than a year now. And guess what? After he died, his wife received a huge anonymous donation that allowed her to buy a luxurious home and cover for the university studies of her three children for years to come."

"It almost sounds like the Sinnerman. No?" Chloe had been reluctant to bring the Sinnerman back on the table because of his story with Pierce, but she could not dismiss any leads.

"Yes! I thought about it and it's possible, although some facts don’t seem to fit with that assumption. First, the Sinnerman was not used to put so much money into a deal. Second, it’s difficult to imagine how the suicide of those agents could have benefited him unless he wanted to make sure of their silence for some reason. But in that case, why honor the payment once the two men were disposed of? What’s more, he used to give his victims what they desired before asking for a payment in return. But whether it's the Sinnerman or someone else behind it, my biggest fear is that those two detectives could have provided highly delicate police information to a criminal organization in return for a monetary profit. An organization for which the detectives could have agreed to commit suicide to ensure their silence."

"It sounds possible, though a bit extreme. Have you found any incriminating evidence against those two policemen, and do you know if they had any suicidal tendencies? Also, is there a chance that those deaths could have been murders instead of suicides?" Chloe could hardly imagine anyone agreeing to commit suicide for money. Nonetheless, with all the debts those two men had accumulated, the possibility of them being both suicidal and therefore inclined to accept such a deal could not be ruled out.

Pierce sighed discouragingly. "That's the problem! My men found absolutely no evidence that the two detectives could have provided police information to anyone. And yet, they must have done a great service to someone for receiving that much money. I have to find out what that was. To answer your other question, yes, their profiles suggest that they could have been suicidal and anyway, their suicides make no doubt whatsoever. Miller crashed into the wall of a supermarket at high speed with his car in the middle of the night, without ever trying to slow down, as was confirmed by the recording of a video camera placed in the parking lot. As for Lowinsky, he was found dead by a gunshot wound to the head shot at close range in his apartment locked from the inside. Every report confirmed that it can’t be murders."

The Lieutenant ran his hand through his hair with apparent frustration before continuing. "I'm sure we missed something important in this case, but I can’t put my finger on it, which is why I thought about consulting with you. You have a gift for thinking outside the box, for seeing things differently."

Chloe refrained from showing embarrassment at this most flattering statement. She focused instead on the mystery surrounding those two supposed suicides. Pierce was waiting for creativity from her, so that's exactly what she was going to try to serve him.

She began thinking aloud to help herself in her analysis. "Okay!... So those detectives were probably paid for a service that you were not able to identify despite all your researches over the past month, and they apparently committed suicide after the fact… What if...? What if that famous service was not issued before, but after their deaths?"

The Lieutenant frowned in confusion. "I'm not sure I'm following you."

Chloe continued with her most imaginative hypothesis. "What if those two men were not really dead, but instead received some help to simulate their suicides? Maybe other desperate men were ready to die in their stead for their own benefit. Those two detectives could have been more useful to this criminal organization once officially dead than alive."

Chloe had to admit it was a little far-fetched, but everything was possible after all. Seeing the stunned face of her superior, she could not help but add with a mischievous smile. "Don’t forget that you’re the one who asked for creativity."

Pierce laughed happily. "Yes, indeed! I was just not prepared for that much creativity, that's all! Well, let's explore this most interesting hypothesis. Hmm! Let's see... The impact of the bullet that killed Miller partially disfigured him if I remember well the photographs I’ve seen. It remains to be checked whether there might be any doubts about his identity. As for Lowinsky... a doubt might well exist considering the state of the car after the accident. Come to think of it, I don’t remember having seen a picture of the body." Pierce looked at her in disbelief. "It's worth investigating! No?"

Chloe was quite proud of her hypothesis, even though she wasn’t even sure she believed in it herself. At least, it was enough to restart the investigation. However, several questions remained. "If we continue this line of thinking and consider that those two detectives might have gone to work for a criminal organization after their supposed death, what did they have so much to offer that would justify such a cover-up? Did they have special skills, perhaps something they had in common?"

Something seemed to click in Pierce's mind and his face lit up. "Actually... both were not only detectives, but also specialists in tailing and covert operations. Our investigation on this case explored this apparent similarity, but nothing in their past operations connected them to each other. Maybe we missed something there or as you suggest, maybe this criminal organization could have been after their unique skills."

Chloe continued her analysis of the situation. "Unfortunately, confirmation of the identity of the two bodies will take a few days at the least and further analysis of their past covert operations could take even longer. While we wait for answers to these questions, we could act as if they really are still alive and ask ourselves how to get a hold of them by anticipating their next actions."

Pierce nodded thoughtfully. "That's right, they could always make a mistake that would help flush them out. Now that I'm thinking about it, if the Sinnerman was well and truly behind it all, now that he's dead, the two detectives might have no one else to answer to. It could push them to act impulsively."

Pierce's comment made Chloe realize something. "Their families! If I were them and had simulated my death to help my family, I would probably want to let them know about it."

"Definitely! We should start by questioning their wives, but before we do, we should go to the station to ask for another identification of the bodies and to ask Stevenson and MacKey to dig deeper into the previous operations of the two detectives." Pierce couldn’t hide his excitement at the idea of pursuing this new lead.

Chloe shared his excitement and felt flattered by his invitation to assist him in this investigation. There was nothing like the feeling of having made a new breakthrough and pursue it to the end. It was for moments like this, among other things, that Chloe loved so much her job.

They hurried to finish their meals before asking for the bills. They were still waiting to pay when Chloe became aware of Marcus' oppressive silence. With a slight apprehension, she looked up at him only to get trapped once more by his intense and penetrating gaze.

He seemed to swallow nervously before finally talking. "Chloe ... I know what I’m about to suggest isn’t very orthodox since I'm your superior but, would you agree to spend the evening with me? We could go out for a drink!" Seeing that his proposal had left Chloe quite perplexed, Marcus felt like he had to clarify his thought. "Just to make sure there’s no misunderstanding between us, this proposal has nothing to do with our job and everything to do with our personal lives!"

Chloe gaped for a long moment. If she had had the slightest doubt about the man's real intentions only a few moments ago, all her doubts had now completely dissolved into nothingness. Flirting with him was one thing, but talking of going out on a real date was a whole different thing altogether. 

Was she ready for that?

Lucifer's face came back to her mind intrusively. If she was sincere with herself, it was Lucifer she wished she could go out on a date with.

But that was a thing of the past!

Or rather, such a possibility never really even existed. It was past time that she faced this reality and stopped dreaming. There could never be anything romantic between Lucifer and herself! Period!

Still, it was clear she still had difficulty putting their story behind her, even though Lucifer had apparently turned that page a long time ago. Maybe Marcus was exactly what she needed to move on right now. However, Chloe could not help but be hesitant to embark on a new romantic relationship when she was unable to say whether she would do it for good or bad reasons. Pierce didn’t deserve being only used to recover from a broken heart.

Chloe tried to convince herself that it was only a drink or two after all and that nothing would force her to go farther with this relationship if she felt otherwise in the end. Truthfully, her interest for Marcus remained sincere enough for her to agree exploring further where their feelings could lead them. 

Chloe finally made up her mind. "Okay for a drink! I believe you are a man worth knowing."

The radiant smile Marcus displayed in response provoked in her a pleasant feeling. Suddenly remembering they still had work to do today before embarking on the exploration of these emerging feelings, Chloe looked away timidly.

She tried to distract herself and at the same time to avoid Marcus’ penetrating gaze, by forcing herself to observe the activity taking place outside the restaurant. She managed to partly clear up her mind by observing passers-by and customers sitting at the outdoor terrace of the nearby cafe who were enjoying this beautiful sunny day.

Suddenly, she noticed a man standing motionless across the street who seemed to be looking in her direction. He was a brown skin man who looked well dressed and distinguished. By observing him more closely, she had the impression of recognizing him.

But it was impossible!

A shudder of fear ran through her at the inconceivable possibility. She narrowed her eyes to sharpen her view and try to confirm the unthinkable. For a second, the man's dark gaze crossed hers, and the world seemed to rock around her.

It was the Sinnerman!

She jumped out of her chair and ran to the exit without any explanation, leaving behind a totally dumbfounded Marcus. However, it only took a few seconds for the latter to recover from his shock and follow her wearily. 

Chloe's heart was pounding. Her rational side kept telling her there was no chance what she thought she saw was actually real. But she had to be certain, she had to check and make sure it was only her imagination that was playing tricks on her. In just a moment, Chloe found herself on the sidewalk outside the restaurant looking for the black man. But he was nowhere in sight.

He had vanished!

Of course he wasn’t there! What had she imagined? That he came back from the dead to take revenge on her? She felt so ridiculous. She hadn’t realized before that instant how much that case had affected her over the last days. She had to admit that the Sinnerman had been one of the most sinister and destabilizing beings she had the misfortune to cross in all of her career.

But the Sinnerman was dead!

There was no doubt about it. She remembered the image of his lifeless body after Pierce had shot him, his face still half-covered by that grotesque bandage on which eyes had been drawn to replace those he had torn himself away, in a moment of madness most certainly. After all, no sane man could pull his eyes out like this.

His eyes!

With a sigh of relief, Chloe realized that it was impossible for her to have looked into the Sinnerman's eyes just a moment ago for the simple raison that he’d torn them out. Either she had seen a man who looked a lot like him, or else the stress of the last days had made her imagine the whole thing. One way or another, she realized she was in great need of getting away from her work before going crazy. Speaking of getting her mind off things...

Marcus suddenly stormed out behind her, hand on his pistol, ready for any eventuality. "What's going on, what have you seen?"

Ashamed, she confessed her mistake. "I'm sorry! I guess my nerves are on edge. I thought I saw something impossible. I feel really ridiculous!"

It was out of the question of disturbing him with her hallucinations of the man who killed his brother. The situation was difficult enough to manage for Pierce without adding anything else on top of it.

"I understand perfectly, I feel quite disoriented lately." He admitted with a grimace. "We probably both need a few days off after the awful week we went through. Luckily it's Friday, so we'll have at least the weekend to breathe a bit." He suddenly showed a naughty little smile. "Our little outing tonight could only do you good, apparently."

Chloe giggled despite the tension she still felt. "You're probably right! I think it can only do me a great deal of good."  
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Once back at the police station, Pierce met Stevenson and MacKey to reassign them full-time on the previous operations of the two supposedly dead detectives, while Chloe found herself in Ella's lab to expose her their latest hypothesis to justify their need of rechecking the identity of the two dead men. Ella seemed excited by the case and assured her she would get on it right away.

Chloe was about to leave the lab when she slowly turned back to her friend. She felt most hesitant to verbalize what had been bothering her ever since her misadventure of this afternoon, for it was obvious there was no logical reason to justify the anxiety that still inhabited her. Nevertheless, she felt she needed this insurance for the sake of her mental health.

"Hmm, Ella?" She asked shyly.

All smiles, the technician quickly removed the headphones she was busy putting back in place in his ears. "Yep? Something else Decker?"

"Maybe ... but it's a rather unusual request." The detective bit her lower lip, terribly embarrassed at the thought of exposing her weaknesses to someone, even if that someone was a friend. "Heuuu… could you start by checking, just to soothe my way too much imaginative brain, that the Sinnerman's body still is in the morgue?"

Ella looked taken aback by her request. "Do you have any reason to believe that someone might want to steal the body?"

"No! ...Not exactly, I... I only need to prove to myself that it's impossible for me to have seen him on the street this afternoon." She finally confessed in despair, burying her face into her hands for a moment. "I know! I know! It's totally absurd, but I feel I need some logical and indisputable evidence right now to help me convince myself that I've imagined everything. The Sinnerman's case probably upset me more than I realized."

Chloe expected Ella to dismiss her doubts all together, but that wasn’t the case. Quite the contrary.

Ella's face turned pale at her words and it was only in a whisper that she asked her. "Did you really see him, like you see me?"

Chloe certainly didn’t expect such a reaction from her friend. "As I told you Ella, it's totally crazy and absolutely impossible! Don’t look at me like that, I'm not crazy, I just have too much imagination."

Ella shook her head and raised her hands in front of herself as if to calm her down. "I don’t think you're crazy Chloe, not at all. I'm just wondering if it could be possible for you to have really seen him. Did he talk to you? Did you hear his voice?"

It wasn’t making any sense for Chloe. "No! He was on the other side of the street and when I got out of the restaurant to check, he was gone. It was probably just a silly creation of my tired and stressed mind, that's all."

"Maybe... But was it the first time you saw a dead soul or had it ever happened before?" Asked Ella curiously.

Chloe didn’t like the turn of the conversation at all. "Of course not! I've never seen... dead souls like you say, I'm not crazy!"

The young technician looked offended by her words. "Because you don’t believe in the possibility of the supernatural doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist Chloe."

Chloe realized she might have hurt her friend in her spiritual values so she tried to amend. "Listen Ella, I didn’t want to offend you in your beliefs. I'm sorry! But I'm sure there's nothing supernatural about what happened to me. I probably suffered too much stress lately... Forget about what I asked you with the morgue, it was a ridiculous request."

"Not at all, that's not ridiculous and I'm going to verify myself that the body is still at the morgue, you can be sure of that. And do not worry about my beliefs, they are unshakable, even though I know few people share them. "

Ella smiled in the most sincere way to prove to Chloe there was no resentment between them.

"Thank you Ella, I really appreciate your understanding and help. This confirmation will certainly help soothe my over active mind."

"No problem, but just promise me something Chloe. I don’t want to frighten you, but if you ever think to see the Sinnerman again, even if you're sure it's all a hallucination, please let me know. Whatever you think about this, being haunted by a spirit is an experience that can become really tough and by what I know of the Sinnerman's profile, his is the last soul I'd like to see going around anyone."

Seeing Chloe's shocked look, Ella hurried to add. "But you're probably right! It was certainly just your imagination."

The technician then plastered a forced smile on her face to try to allay the obvious anxiety her words just created in the detective.

"Heuuu! OK! ..." Answered Chloe, totally disconcerted.

Chloe really didn’t know what to think of her friend's warning. Although she never believed in ghosts, or wandering souls, or whatever it was called, her experience of this afternoon had shaken her a little and Ella's words did not help her in any way calm her anxiety down.

It was therefore with an even more troubled mind that Chloe joined Pierce to go question the wives of the supposedly dead detectives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed it! Rest assured that we will go back to Lucifer in the next chapter to address his issues. Let me know what you think of the turn of events and know that I am always open to suggestions. Thanks a lot for reading!


	4. The Strangest Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, here is the next chapter. Action is going to start now. So enjoy!

Pierce and Chloe finally arrived at the first victim’s home to question the wife, Emily Miller. It was actually a very delicate situation which Chloe wasn’t exactly sure how to approach. If the husband effectively simulated his death and had already made contact with his wife since then, there certainly was little chance that she would confess anything to them and every chances that she would react badly to their questioning. On the other hand, if the man had actually died or had just not made contact yet with his family, the wife's reaction to their questioning might be just as bad, possibly worse. Everything would depend on the way the questioning was made and in the interpretation of the woman's reaction. Pierce and Chloe agreed that she would be best placed to conduct this delicate interrogation.

Once they were comfortably seated in the living room with Mrs. Miller, Chloe made sure to take white gloves to ask her first question. "Mrs. Miller, I know what I'm about to ask concerning your husband might seem a bit odd, but would you have seen or received something that could be interpreted as a message from your husband since his death?"

Instead of getting angry and cursing them for daring to ask such a question, the woman went deadly silent for a long while, opening and closing her mouth a few times as if trying to answer this unexpected question.

She ended up responding in a weak, hesitant voice. "How...? Who told you about that? You dared question my daughter without my consent?"

Chloe and Pierce looked at each other, totally taken aback. The detective nevertheless recovered her wits quickly and rushed into this unexpected opening. "No! We didn’t interrogate your daughter, but what would she tell us if we did?"

Mrs. Miller seemed to understand that she had already told too much and therefore had no choice but to continue her explanation. "Stacy is simply a too imaginative child, really! A few days ago, she woke up in tears in the middle of the night, telling she’d been visited by her father who told her not to worry for he was watching over us and would make sure she received all the necessary health care. It was obviously only the dream of a little girl who is still very affected by her father’s death." She tried to convince them.

In Chloe’s experience, it was obvious the woman was hiding something from them. "If so, why am I under the impression that you don’t even believe in your own explanation?" She countered, keeping a soft, calm tone nonetheless.

The woman's eyes widened in surprise at the detective's direct question. "Aaaah!..." she started nervously. "I know it sounds ridiculous... but... I've had... on more than one occasion... the impression to feel my husband around, to feel him close to me, to us, as if his spirit was watching over us." She looked down at her fidgeting hands, visibly uncomfortable to reveal her strange beliefs.

Chloe had not expected that one! It was definitely the strangest day!

The detective shook her head gently as if to clear her mind. "Before concluding to a paranormal phenomenon, have you not considered the possibility that your husband might actually be still alive and that it’s the reason you had that impression of him protecting you?"

Mrs. Miller stared at her with an air of utter surprise, as if it was Chloe who had evoked a paranormal hypothesis. The woman then laughed disbelievingly at what she thought to be a totally absurd idea.

"It doesn’t make any sense! How could my husband still be alive? I identified his body myself and have absolutely no doubt it was truly him. There’s no way I can be wrong about it! "

After that, they could not get anything more from the woman who began to show signs of irritation at being challenged about the validity of her statement. They had to leave the Miller's house quicker than expected, albeit with some unexpected information.

Encouraged by the information gathered, Pierce and Chloe rushed to the house of the second victim's wife. This time, they were not surprised to hear the bizarre story of the woman, relented after only a minimum of pressure from them.

Mrs. Lowinsky confessed having received a strange call about two weeks ago. Despite a very bad line connection, the woman swore she heard the voice of her deceased husband through the sounds of static, apologizing for all he’d done to her and their children during all these years of squandered their money, and pledging her eternal love.

As the two women's stories came together, Ella's warning about wandering spirits once again crossed Chloe's mind for a moment, which she quickly relegated to the category of indisputable impossibilities. The detective was planning on solving this case the old good fashion way, by simply using her logic and hard evidences, as she had always done in the past. Falling back on paranormal explanations to solve a case was definitely far from her usual way.

Instead of worsening Chloe’s anxiety, who was already upset by the strange appearance of the Sinnerman just a few hours earlier, the fantastic statements of the two women on the contrary helped convince her even more that the apparently deceased detectives were in fact still alive. It was becoming obvious to her and Pierce would only agree for sure.

Well, that’s what she thought.

Against all odds, Pierce turned out to be ambivalent on the question, without wanting to specify what troubled him in Chloe’s deductions. Was he not supposed to be the common sense type of man? It least that’s what she thought him to be. The eventual confirmation of the bodies’ identity would at least allow them soon to settle on the matter. Hopefully, Ella would get back to them about it in just a few days.

Unfortunately, until then, Pierce and she were agreeing on the impossibility of placing a BOLO on both men considering that all of their colleagues still thought them to be dead. They would need strong evidences before being allowed to put such a search into motion.

Still, Chloe felt quite satisfied with their progress on this case and was also extremely reassured by Ella's earlier message confirming that the Sinnerman's body still rested peacefully at the morgue.

So it was with a certain sense of accomplishment, everything considered, and a definitely more relaxed state of mind, that Chloe decided this case could wait for their return on Monday morning before being pursued. Pierce and she deserved a few days off after all. 

Once back at the car and on their way to the police station, Chloe discreetly watched Pierce out of the corner of her eye with a dreamy little smile. After a day that could not be stranger on top of a more than trying week, she found it nice to consider a down to earth weekend, although with a program with the most exciting potential...  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Lucifer was restless all day, with the time seeming to pass terribly slowly in his eyes at waiting to be certain Chloe went home before going there himself.

After leaving Linda's office this morning, he first went to his place where he turned around in circles during a long time. The only idea on his mind at the time had been to drink all the alcohol on his shelves to try to soothe the stifling pressure that crushed his chest. He couldn’t say exactly what the sensation meant, but he suspected it had to do with his growing apprehension about revealing his true identity to Chloe. He had to call on all his will to resist the temptation to empty his supply of alcohol. Knowing the detective as he did, she would never even let him get inside her place if she suspected he had too much to drink. This outlet was therefore out of the question, at least for the moment. It would still be time to indulge himself in therapeutic sins after telling her...

To help stay sober and control his restlessness, he finally decided to go out for a walk, as to change his mind. His legs naturally led him to the beach where he first landed more than six years ago, at the dawn of this new life that seemed so promising at the time.

He spent the rest of the day pacing up and down the beach, sometimes sitting on the fine sand or on the rocks, admiring the sea and listening to the waves surging on the shore with constancy. A constancy that soothed him and reminded him that the world kept turning even if his reality seemed about to collapse.

In spite of all his attempts to empty his mind, his thoughts kept returning again and again to one and only one thing.

Chloe!

If she rejected him tonight, after learning who he really was, he would have to leave. Of that he was now sure. There was no way he could stay on this planet after such a rejection. He would return to Hell, where nothing could remind him of what he had lost. He would resume his role as a torturer, as the Lord of Hell. That was probably what his Father had sought to accomplish from the start by placing Chloe in his path. Whether his bastard of a Father won or not, nothing would matter to him anymore after that. If Chloe could not accept him for who he was, no one else ever could, at least none who counted as much to him. There was no greater certainty in his mind. After her rejection, everything would seem futile and colorless without her. Why stay among humans if she wasn’t by his side?

Once that decision made, he worked hard to find the best way to make his big reveal to Chloe and the best words to use to make her understand what she meant to him. He reasoned that for now, it was probably best to keep to himself the fact that he was in love with her. It was already hopeless enough to expect her to accept him as a friend, he was certainly not going to add to it and traumatize her by saying the Devil had set his sights on her. It would have been the best way to have her run away from him screaming.

On the other hand, if she fled, it would certify that she’d always had her free will when it came to her feelings for him. But it would be too late by then, he would have lost her forever. He was not ready to take such a risk. Already, the fact that Chloe rejected him this morning and had now teamed up with Pierce let him believe that she probably always had this freedom of judgment. This knowledge assuredly warmed his heart despite the persistent pain that still inhabited him.

He suspected that if he hoped to win her back one day, he would have to play his cards slowly, but only once she had first dealt with the shock of his revelation. He was well aware that all of that would take time. Chloe would need time. Unfortunately, time was in short supply at the moment, what with Pierce being intent on seducing the detective and who had apparently shifted in second gear by revealing his intentions to her. Lucifer only hoped that their indisputable unique connection would prevail over Cain's charms. And yet, nothing was less certain, especially after what the Devil had made his teammate endure over the last months.

The sun was now slowly descending over the distant horizon. This realization brought Lucifer back to reality. Chloe was most likely back home by now. Time for him to face his destiny.

He got off the rock where he was perched on for the last hour and walked heavily towards Lux to retrieve his car. He was certainly not going to use his wings to go home and let his Father believe he was happy to have them back. These wings were the proof of His manipulation and Lucifer intended to let Him know he wasn’t fooled. Perhaps his brothers thought God had forgiven him, but Lucifer saw clearly in His game. He would not let Him the chance to manipulate him, nor would he let his brothers make him fall again, whatever their plan might be.

It was the first time since his altercation with Chloe that Lucifer had a spare thought for that brother, or brothers, apparently determined to provoke his second fall. Whoever that was, he hadn’t felt any heavenly presence nearby all day. In a moment of doubt, he wondered if he could have missed such a presence, given his tormented state of mind.

All senses now in full awareness at the thought that one of his siblings might be watching him, Lucifer raised his head and scanned the beach discreetly as he walked. There were a few families here and there on the beach, surfers alone or in groups, young people sunbathing on the sand and others walking alone or hand-in-hand at the water's edge.

He didn’t recognize any of them nor did anything seem strange or out of place. Then he turned his gaze to the road following the beach about 100 meters from the sea. There he could observe some passers-by who walked quietly, as well as cyclists who took advantage of this beautiful day. Still nothing strange over there.

Unless…

His attention was drawn subconsciously to a man walking very slowly along the road, slightly behind him. Not sure yet why this man caught his attention, Lucifer decided to angle towards the road as to better observe him from the corner of his eye. His progression towards Lux would probably be faster anyway if he walked on the road rather than on the beach.

Accelerating now his pace while keeping the stranger in his field of vision, Lucifer realized that the man seemed to slow down his progress even more. That was strange! It seemed as if he was making sure to still be behind Lucifer once he reached the road. Lucifer observed the man as attentively as the situation permitted, trying to understand what might have drawn his attention to him in the first place.

The guy had to be in his forties, with short brown hair and plain in appearance and stature. The dark blue three-piece suit he wore seemed quite ordinary too, as were pretty much every characteristics of the individual. For some unknown reason, something seemed wrong about the man.

Wait a minute! He was wearing a suit...

Now that he thought about it, it was very odd that anyone could tolerate that much clothing in that heat. Even the Devil had taken off his jacket hours ago and rolled up his shirt sleeves to be more comfortable. That had to be the reasoned his subconscious had made him look twice at the guy. He tried to detect any supernatural vibration coming off him, heavenly or otherwise, but couldn’t feel anything.

As he approached the road and thus the individual who was now within 50 meters from him, Lucifer suddenly realized that he’d seen the guy before without being able to pin point exactly where they had crossed path.

The man chose that moment to cross the street which was bringing him away from the beach, and in the process also out of Lucifer's field of view since the beach sat lower than the road.

The scoundrel was fleeing!

Lucifer ran up the few meters that still separated him from the road to chase after him, but once on the roadway, the man was gone. No car rushing away, nor any buildings or objects behind which he could have been hiding.

He had just vanished!

Who was this guy? What did he want? And more importantly, what was he? Lucifer had a hard time believing it was a coincidence that such an event happened precisely when one or more of his brothers wanted to do him wrong. It had to be linked.

And why did he feel like he recognized the man? By focusing more on the issue, he realized he had seen him at the police station. Yes! That was it! More than once in fact, but without ever having spoken to him and what was more, always from a distance. It was probably why it had taken him a moment to remember him. It was impossible to tell if the man had followed him in the last days. After all, Lucifer had been way too distracted lately by the Sinnerman and the return of his wings to pay attention to anything else around him. Who could say how long he had been watched?

He felt rage rising inside him. When he put his hand on the guy, they would have a hell of a time. The Devil would relish in torturing the bastard himself to have him confess who was behind it. The man clearly didn’t know who he was dealing with or he would never have dared to provoke his anger.

Once certain the man was no longer in the area, Lucifer quickly returned home to refresh before going at Chloe's, taking all possible precautions to make sure not to be followed there. It was out of the question to put Chloe's life in danger with his family problems.

He got out of his car and scanned the place around Chloe's apartment nervously for a long while. Everything seemed normal. He had apparently not been followed. He could at last focus back on what was most important.

That is to say, Chloe.

As the presence of her car in the parking lot could confirm, she was already back from work. What more, she’d probably finished eating by now. He knew that Beatrice was spending the weekend at Daniel's, and Maze was currently on the hunt and should still be for a few days. It was therefore the perfect moment for this little discussion which held such disastrous potential.

Lucifer stared at the building darkly like a man sentenced to death, as if his life was about to end the moment he crossed the threshold. In a sense, it was probably the case.

Gathering all his courage, he finally made his way to the detective’s apartment unsteadily. When he knocked on the door, he noticed his hand was shaking slightly. He hurriedly buried his two treacherous hands inside his pants pockets and put on what he hoped to be a calm and charming face.

Despite all his mental preparation, the vision of Chloe when she finally opened the door left him without words. Contrary to her habits, she was wearing a beautiful dress, yet light and simple, that was highlighting all her best attributes. Her hair was gathered on the top of her head with some errant strands that cascaded along her beautiful face freshly made-up.

Lucifer suddenly lost his already fragile composure and froze, jaw slightly open, like a kid in front of the woman of his dreams.

She was so beautiful!

For a long moment, no other thoughts could penetrate his foggy mind, until he realized the detective's features were hardening at the sight of the Devil on her doorstep.

Chloe welcomed him with a harsh voice. "Lucifer, what are you doing here? I thought I made myself clear this morning. I need time to think it through before we talk again."

Lucifer defended himself quickly. "I know! I know! And I understand your need believe me. You don’t even have to address me a single word if that's what you prefer. I really need to tell you something important though, something I should have told you a long time ago."

Chloe pinched the bridge of her nose, thinking she didn’t have the patience for that today. "Listen Lucifer, I'm in a hurry right now and I have absolutely no time for your little games."

"It's not a ga..." But Lucifer stopped suddenly, finally realizing why the detective was particularly beautiful tonight and why she was in a rush as she said. "You’re going out with someone!" He observed with horror.

"Well, yes, Lucifer! I'm not a nun! I too have a life outside work."

Lucifer didn’t need to hear the name of her date to understand it was Pierce. Of course he had invited her out! The bastard! He really wasted no time that one! The Devil could no longer keep his thoughts to himself. "I'm gonna rip off every square centimeters of skin of his damned body! We'll see how long it takes before it to grow back! With a little luck, it'll give him time enough to think twice before provoking the Devil again."

Chloe's eyes widened in disbelief. If she didn’t know Lucifer better, she might have almost thought he was jealous to hear she was seeing someone else. But we were talking about Lucifer here, the Lucifer who dumped her when her hopes of a romantic relationship with him were at their highest, and who’d returned with a stripper as a wife, probably to prove her that he didn’t want anything else from her than her friendship.

Despite everything she had gone through with this aborted pseudo-love relationship, Chloe was kind of grateful to him for not abusing of the situation just to sleep with her. He had at least taken into account the fact that this relationship clearly meant a lot to her while it was obviously the opposite for him.

Oh! No! Chloe would not be fooled this time. If Lucifer continued sending her conflicting messages by behaving like a lovesick puppy, there had to be another reason behind it and she thought she had a good idea of what that was.

Chloe finally exploded, replying with force. "Lucifer! How dare you! I can date whoever I want and you have no reason to be angry at Pierce. I asked him myself to work with me for a while. He is not planning to take your place at my side and if it's your job as a consultant that worries you so much, then rest assured, I'm sure someone else would be happy to work with you instead of me." Seeing his shocked reaction at her words, Chloe felt the need to add. "If it gets to that point, that is."

Her words seemed to shut him up effectively. No doubt she had gotten it right.

Lucifer was totally speechless. She just confessed without any embarrassment that she was indeed seeing Pierce tonight. And to top it off, she thought he was only worried about his job as a consultant. She really had no idea how crazy in love he was with her. He reminded himself how it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing at the moment and how it was exactly what he’d tried to make her believe for months. This realization, however, did nothing to alleviate the oppressive pain that was crushing his heart at this moment.

The detective was clearly irritated by his tirade against Pierce. He thought it was high time to calm her down if he ever hoped to be invited inside. Apparently, he was off to a bad start.

"Detective! ... I ... I'm sorry! I should not have gotten so carried away, of course you can go out with whoever you want, far be it for me to dictate your conduct." His words seemed to calm her down somewhat. He took advantage of her silence to continue clumsily with what he should have said right from the start instead of getting side-tracked. "I... I came to see you... to finally reveal who I am... No more secrets, no more mystery, I want to tell you everything!"

Chloe was fuming inside. How dare he still use that argument with her to get the attention he wanted? He never had the courage to go through with this promise in the past and she couldn’t see why it should be different this time. He’d probably just invented that excuse on the spot to stop her from seeing Pierce tonight.

"Do you really think I’m going to fall for that yet again so easily? Every time I give you another chance just because I care about you, it always turns against me. I’m sick of hoping for things to change between us. I’m done waiting for you to open up to me Lucifer! 

Chloe was out of herself. She thought she had gotten it out of her chest this morning by telling him a few home truths at the police station, but she had apparently only scratched the surface of all her resentments. And if her words exceeded her thoughts, well, just too bad!

"But Detective! You don’t understand! I'm really ready to tell you everything. I need you to know... I need... I need you!" He finally confessed in a whisper.

It visibly didn’t provoke in Chloe the reaction he was hoping for. Once again.

Chloe felt tears build up in her eyes. Lucifer had just said the exact words she had dreamed of hearing from him for months. That he needed her as much as she needed him. But these words obviously had a different meaning for him. He needed her as a partner, as a friend, while Chloe still secretly dreamed that he could feel for her what she felt for him. Was he trying to manipulate her emotions on purpose by wording double meaning phrases to lure her?

She couldn’t take it anymore!

Too overwhelmed by emotions to answer anything, Chloe just shut the door up roughly in his face.

Lucifer was in complete shock, totally unable to understand what just happened and what it meant for him, for them.

He stood still for a long moment contemplating the door, as if there was still a chance she could open it again to give him another chance to explain himself, to reveal everything to her. He couldn’t believe it was going to end this way between them, without him being able to tell her anything that was of any real importance.

How could things have gotten so wrong? Had he tried to do it on purpose he didn’t think he could have done a better job at destroying everything.

It was a nightmare!

Torn between despair and rage for having so horribly lost control of the situation, he was still hesitant to make any move. Either he walked off and turned his back on this impossible love forever, either he broke the door down and force her to listen to him, which would certainly traumatize her, possibly for the rest of her life.

Through all these overwhelming emotions and conflicting thoughts that threatened to submerge him, Lucifer began to discern another sensation, this one more familiar, but way much more frightening, that slowly invaded every cells of his being.

No! For pity’s sake! Not that!

And as if to confirm his worst fears, he heard a muffled scream coming from inside the apartment.

Without any hesitation, he broke down the front door with a simple push of his hand on the handle. The door almost bust out of its hinges under the force of the impact.

The picture that greeted him was the reflection of his worst nightmares.

Eyes filled with tears of terror, Chloe seemed to be pleading him with her eyes. Yet no sound could get through her lips with that despicable hand gaging her from behind. A second hand firmly held her at the throat with an infernal dagger to keep her from struggling.

Filled with panic, Lucifer left Chloe’s horrified gaze to look at the being who was threatening her and by doing so just signed his own death warrant.

The Sinnerman!

He was there, in the flesh, as improbable as that could seem, smiling at him viciously.

Lucifer thought he should have expected this abject being to come back someday to haunt him. But what exactly did he want? And why attack the detective?

He was about to ask those questions when a melodious voice resonated on his right. A voice that should never have been heard in such a place. 

"Hello! Big Brother!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just hope you like the way things turn out. Next part is gonna be fun to write :) Tell me what you think, it is so important to me to hear you out! Thanks for following this story and commenting! I love you all!


	5. Death from Above and Below

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Damn! I have to admit that this chapter was a very difficult one to write. I really owe a great debt to my French Beta, Bebec, who gave me great tips to improve everything in my French version. I only hope that the final effect will please you. Also a big thank you to my wonderful new English Beta, Apparition, who corrected this chapter. Good reading everybody!

"Hello Big Brother!"

Lucifer froze for a moment, staring at this dangerous vision of the past. Despite his many conjectures as to the identity of the angel responsible for all his latest misfortunes, this had never even crossed his mind. And yet, it all seemed so obvious now.

"Azrael! I should have known it was you! Who else would have had the opportunity to make an alliance with demons and hated me deeply enough to challenge Father's will to get revenge?"

The woman with long, black smooth hair, and ebony skin stared coldly with dark eyes which reflected all the hatred she felt for him. The long black gown she was wearing accentuated that aura of Angel of Death that stuck to her skin and diffused a feeling of supernatural danger that even he could not ignore. Even without her wings out, it had to be hard for anyone to believe her to be human.

The angel replied haughtily. "You think Father's reaction scares me? Sooner or later, He'll finally realize that your right place is in Hell and that you don’t deserve to walk this Earth freely, no more than you deserve those wings."

"I tend to agree with you about my own merits, but no one except me has the right to decide if I deserve those wings and Father had no right either to force them back on me without my consent," he replied angrily.

Lucifer quickly analyzed the perilous situation in which the detective and he found themselves, desperately seeking for a means, an opening to exploit, that would allow him to save her, but seeing none for the moment. The Sinnerman was efficiently using Chloe as a shield, leaving only a small part of his face and body exposed. The bastard would need to apply only a slight pressure on the demonic dagger resting on the detective's neck to put an end to her life. Lucifer could not take the risk of attacking the Sinnerman or even his sister without endangering Chloe's life. Azrael was holding him tightly and she knew it.

Lucifer quickly came to the conclusion that he had better make her talk as long as possible in the hope of seeing an improbable opening appear that could give him the opportunity to try a rescue. His sister was not one to rush into things anyway and as he knew her, she would certainly relish in the opportunity to give him a piece of her mind before revealing her real intentions.

"And to think that you teamed with demons to try and make me Fall again, it's so pathetic!"

His remark brought a grimace of disgust to his sister's face. He wasn’t sure though if this feeling was only directed against him or if it was also caused by the mere idea of working with demons. Probably both, if what he knew of the Angel of Death's convictions still applied.

Lucifer didn’t give her time to answer and turned to the Sinnerman, to whom he shot a murderous glare. His words, however, were still directed at his sister. "And I see you brought one of those demons here. You play with fire, Azrael!"

He then made a falsely polite bow with his head to the Sinnerman. "Congratulations, Damien! I see that you managed to get that immortality that you coveted so much despite the fact that you miserably failed in your task of forcing me to kill you."

For a second, the glamour concealing the Sinnerman’s true appearance loss of its consistency, which gave Lucifer a glimpse of the cavernous holes where once stood the new demon’s eyes.

The Sinnerman struggled to control his anger at the painful reminder of his failure. "Looks like you've had a little chat with Cain. It doesn’t matter anymore, if he's stupid enough to regret his immortality, you can be sure it won’t be my case. As you said, I may have failed in my task, but apparently I still managed to impress enough someone highly placed with my potential to deserve this great reward nonetheless."

With an enticing voice, Lucifer took the opportunity to try and get answers to some questions still troubling him. "And tell me, Damien, what demon have you impressed so? Azazel? Baal? Or maybe even Alastor? They would certainly be the kind of perfidious beings to challenge me after all."

While speaking, Lucifer tried to get closer to Damien in order to accentuate his power of persuasion and diminish the space that separated him from Chloe.

But the new demonic being didn’t let himself get tricked so easily. He took a step back while tightening his grip around the detective and applying a stronger pressure of his blade against her throat, which efficiently stopped Lucifer’s progress. "Wouldn’t you like to know? However, I don’t think he'd like me to denounce him, do you?"

With these words, the Sinnerman displayed a malicious smile that Lucifer would have loved to make him swallow back with a few well-placed and well-deserved punches. But the life of the detective was at stake here and it was out of the question for him to lose his temper and worsen the situation. Too bad this new demon was so smart. Lucifer had had little hope of getting anything from him, but at least he had tried.

Instinctively, Lucifer's gaze settled on his partner's. He would have liked to reassure her, to tell her that everything would be fine, that he was going to get her out of there alive, but it wasn’t the time for comforting words. He hoped, however, that his eyes alone could convey all he was feeling at the moment and all he was ready to do to save her. It took him a few seconds to notice that Chloe actually looked less terrified than when he first arrived, though obviously quite baffled by the events unfolding before her. Of course she had to be destabilized. How could it have been otherwise after all, considering the strange words exchanged between their attackers and himself? He smiled gently, in a last effort to reassure her.

Lucifer eventually removed his attention from the young woman to finally respond to the Sinnerman. "You’re probably right; a demon can get angry easily and react violently, and for the most innocuous reasons. You are as well not to give him reasons to eliminate you. Unfortunately for you, you will soon learn that my charming sister can’t either be trusted, for she will probably betray you as soon as you have reached the end of your usefulness. Because, you see, the Angel of Death is a real bitch!" 

Red with anger, Azrael took a few steps towards him as if she was about to attack before apparently recovering her senses. Instead, she contented herself with a verbal attack against him. "I’m the bitch? You, are the one who brought death and destruction to the Silver City because of your limitless selfishness and your irrational quest for freedom!" You alone are responsible for Raziel's death and all the others. I've lost my twin sister because of you and I will never forgive you for as long as I live. If there's anyone here who cannot be trusted, it's you, Samael!"

Chloe couldn’t believe everything she was hearing. Her rational mind was trying desperately to explain logically all these revelations, but nothing was less easy. This woman was his sister? Not only did she encourage Lucifer’s religious delusions, but she apparently thought herself to be the Angel of Death? Chloe had to admit that the looks of that woman sent shivers down her spine. She apparently took her role as much at heart, if not more, than her Devil of a brother. This family really was disturbed! But Chloe was beginning to believe that a horrible tragedy might have befallen that family, and that Lucifer might be at the origin of it. Which would explain his stubbornness in calling himself the Devil. Was the name Samael his real one before he decided to borrow the one of Lucifer? It was very possible.

She also reasoned that it wasn’t because she didn’t find a logical explanation for the return of the Sinnerman that there was none. He just couldn’t be a demon! Could he? She tried to stifle deep inside herself that little voice telling her that she should perhaps consider all the possibilities, because that kind of thing simply was impossible. Regardless of the explanation for his return, Chloe also could not understand why Azrael and he were attacking her while Azrael was clearly there to take revenge over Lucifer. What advantage did they both have to do so? She couldn’t find the beginning of an explanation.

Lucifer flinched as much at hearing his former name as at being painfully reminded of his past mistakes. His throat constricted under the emotions suddenly resurfacing at the memory of all his siblings who disappeared by his fault. He surprised himself by wanting to explain his actions. "I didn’t want to... I never thought that... How could I have known it would turn out so badly?"

Against all odds, Azrael busted into laughter with an air of absolute bewilderment. "Samael! Samael! You’ve always been so naïve! Did you really believe that Father would let you foment a rebellion without replying, that he would simply give you what you asked only because you wielded a sword and had an army at your back? The question you should be asking yourself is, how could it have ever turned out otherwise? But whether you're just naive or treacherous enough to make yourself look like it doesn’t matter. You'll always be a threat to us all and to humanity, and I intend to make sure that you can never harm anyone again and that you’ll pay for your mistakes."

Lucifer tried to look confident. "And how exactly are you planning to do it? You'll never make me Fall again Sister, especially not by trying to have me murder a human being. You can be sure of that."

"I humbly admit that my plan to make you Fall was worthy of the greatest minds. You have to acknowledge that it almost succeeded. If only Father hadn’t given you back your wings, forcing me to improvise and to rush things, I'm sure everything would have worked out perfectly and you'd have eventually killed Damien. Uriel was more impatient and drastic than I in his approach, he would have preferred to kill you for good with my dagger, but he finally bent to my idea of forcing you to return to Hell by threatening the life of your precious human. Not that it prevented Uriel from dying by your hand in the end though."

"You were working with Uriel?" Lucifer could hardly believe it. He had always believed that Uriel had stolen Azrael's dagger and acted alone.

The Angel of Death smiled mischievously. "How did you think he got a hand on my dagger? No one can take it from me without my consent. I thought you were smarter than that! And don’t think I'll forget the fact that you got rid of my blade by sending it to another universe. Rest assured that you'll pay for that too! "

The rays of light coming from the slowly declining sun approaching the horizon now illuminated the angel's face, giving her a heavenly and powerful appearance. His sister seemed so confident at the moment, so certain that the new plan she was setting into motion would finally allow her to take revenge over him. Lucifer was afraid to discover this new ploy, but it was high time to hear what exactly she had planned for him.

"So what? Are you going back to your old idea of forcing me to return to Hell by threatening the detective again, or do you prefer the more personal option of killing me with your own hands? But you must know that I am much stronger than you now that I have my wings back. You will discover that it isn’t so easy to force my hand or to kill me."

"Yes, I’m well aware of that! Your old powers have been restored, which is why I thought of a whole new approach that will be much safer for me in addition of allowing me much better chances of success."

With a disturbingly delighted smile, the Angel of Death paused slightly before continuing, no doubt to allow the mystery to linger a moment longer.

"Don’t you think I'm aware that this human makes the Devil mortal?" Lucifer instantly blanched at her words and the false confidence he was displaying until then went up into smoke. But the worst was yet to come. "I also know that you've already died twice for her, so I'm pretty sure you'll be ready to die again to protect her, definitively this time of course."

Lucifer couldn’t begin to explain how his sister was aware of all this. It was a nightmare! He couldn’t care less for his own safety, but his hopes of protecting the detective were dwindling more by the second, which was raising real panic inside him. "How can you know...?"

"Because I am the Angel of Death, of course! No one can die without my sensing their soul traveling towards Paradise or Hell. My human spies confirmed to me that the detective was present both times that your soul left your body and that you sacrificed yourself to save her. They also discovered that you were wounded at least one other time in her presence several months ago. As impossible as that could seem, I had to accept to the evidences; this human can make the Devil die! How poetic!"

Chloe was in shock. Lucifer died for her? Twice? But it was impossible! Who could die and come back to life? She heard again that little inner voice shouting to her the evidence she still refused to consider; the Devil! That's who he was! Despite her refusal to accept that possibility, she couldn’t help but see in her mind the image of Lucifer lying on the floor in a pool of blood, motionless and lifeless after Malcolm shot him. And he would have died yet another time? She couldn’t think properly at the moment, ideas jostling inside her mind. She clearly remembered having wounded him herself by shooting at him after thinking she saw his face change briefly and his eyes turn to take a reddish demonic glow... No! She couldn’t let her confused thoughts take that path. She had to think rationally, as much as the situation allowed her.

And Lucifer would have killed someone who was threatening her? Was this Uriel his brother? And she who believed that Lucifer always thought only of himself, that no one else really counted in his life. Did he care about her to the point of killing to secretly protect her? She remembered Lucifer's words from just the day before when he tried to explain that he kidnapped the Sinnerman to protect her. Could it be true? Did he already know that the Sinnerman intended to attack her? Lucifer had apparently planned to kill him too, but had supposedly given up eventually, refusing to kill a human being...

With all those unanswered questions overwhelming her, Chloe refused to additionally explore all the metaphors heard about Heaven and Hell, the supposed mortality of the Devil in her presence and the return of his wings. Her brain couldn’t figure out any meaning to it all at this point. Nevertheless, she couldn’t help but start to accept that there was some truths in his sister's acidic words as well as in the things Lucifer had told her over and over again during the time of their partnership. In that very moment, perhaps did she believed in it all more than she ever did before. 

«I am the Devil, Detective!»

«I have never lied to you and I will never lie to you!»

No... It was impossible! Lucifer was her friend, her partner. He was a good man, an exceptional man! He could not be the Devil. Her whole being refused to believe it. While she did believe him when he said he always told her the truth, she preferred to relegate everything she didn’t want to believe in as being mere metaphors. She continued clinging to this increasingly fragile certainty that Lucifer was nothing more than a human being haunted by his past, though with a unique vision of the world and its reality. Azrael's following words further undermined this already fragile conviction of hers, altering along with it her vision of what she represented to Lucifer.

"Not only are you mortal in her presence, but you also seem to love her more than your own life! More and more interesting. The devil in love with a human! What an irony, don’t you think?" Azrael chuckled for a few seconds in front of the downcast expression of the Devil.

She continued her strategic attack. "Do you really think that this human could have one day accepted who you are, that she could have loved you? Don’t be ridiculous, Samael! Yet, deep inside you, you must have always known that she could never accept the truth. That’s certainly why you have never revealed your true face to her. Oh yes, it's true, you don’t have that face anymore. But even without ever having seen your true nature, this human seems to have instinctively understood that you are not trustworthy and that it is wiser for her to reject you." 

Lucifer tried to convince himself that his sister was only trying to destabilize him to make him even more vulnerable. But he could not get out of his head the possibility that Chloe could see in him an evil being. Was that the reason why she pushed him away today, why she didn’t want to see him anymore and chose Pierce instead of him? He felt his heart beating painfully against his chest at a faster pace.

"You are the Devil, Samael! Or should I rather call you Lucifer now? Yes, it suits you!" And the Devil deserves to rot in Hell for eternity. To make sure of it, you must die! Not by my hand nor Damien's, but by hers!" With these words, Azrael turned her cold eyes on Chloe.

The Sinnerman removed his hand from her mouth to let her speak and instead circled his arm firmly around her thin waist. "What? You’re totally crazy! I will never hurt Lucifer, he is my partner and my friend!"

Chloe would have wanted to shout that he represented way more than that to her, but Azrael seemed to have already enough weapons against them without adding to it. And his sister thought that Lucifer was in love with her? Was that even possible? In any case, he had not denied it and seemed rather uncomfortable when she mentioned it. And that woman wanted her to kill Lucifer?! Chloe could not believe how surreal the situation was. Despite her confusion, there was at least one certainty for Chloe; absolutely nothing this woman could say or do would ever convince her to hurt Lucifer.

"Think well, Detective! Deep down, you already know that you cannot trust him, he is the Devil, the vilest and most treacherous person to have walked this planet. He has hidden his identity from you all this time, has interfered in your life, in your home, and even got close to your child under false pretenses. You must put an end to this threat, for you and for humanity.

With that, Azrael turned around and took Chloe's service weapon which was resting on the buffet of the living room. She pulled the gun out of its holster and slowly walked over to the detective to put it in her trembling hand before retreating and taking back her place a little farther. She took the opportunity to send a smug smile at Lucifer in order to taunt him to try and do anything to stop her.

"Now... kill him and you'll be safe, but if you ever refuse, you'll die. It's as simple as that!"

Lucifer intervened before Chloe could answer. "You can’t ask that of her! You win! I'm willing to go back to Hell now! Let's make a bargain, my return in Hell in exchange for letting the detective live and a promise you will never threaten her again."

"Tst ! Tst ! Tst ! You won’t get away with it so easily this time, Lucifer. You have a gift for making deals in which you manage to find loopholes and I'm not ready to take the risk of seeing you one day escape Hell."

"Then give me that weapon, Detective! I will do it myself. There is no reason for you to experience such an ordeal." He reached for the weapon, imploring her.

Lucifer was resigned. He had lost and he knew it. But he could not bear the idea of Chloe having to suffer from the obligation to kill him.

"That is out of the question!" Azrael said quickly. And the Sinnerman reacted immediately by tightening his embrace around Chloe in case she was tempted to obey Lucifer, even if she seemed completely paralyzed for the moment.

"It’s going to be a lot more fun to watch her kill you and to know how much you’ll suffer from that fact afterwards. Consider yourself lucky that I don’t plan on killing her to make you feel the loss I've experienced when losing Raziel. I might have to keep her alive until you die, but don’t push me to slaughter her afterward, because I will not hesitate to give Damien the order."

Lucifer let out a long sigh of defeat. He then turned a sad look on Chloe. He spoke to her softly, but insistently. "Detective, you have to do it! Please, this is the only way for you to stay alive and that's all that really matters to me. Kill me! And for pity’s sake, don’t ever blame yourself for it afterwards because none of it is your fault. I've made some big mistakes in my past and it's now time for me to go back and resume my sentence."

Chloe was now crying openly with tears rolling down her cheeks. She could hardly find words. She shook her head frantically in denial, keeping her weapon stubbornly pointed at the ground. "No, I'll never be able to shoot you, Lucifer, never!"

"But you have to, Detective, it's now became inevitable." Lucifer's face seemed torn by emotions. His sweet eyes imploring her silently to obey.

Azrael started to lose patience. "Don’t you understand who you really are dealing with, Detective? Lucifer is the Devil, Satan, the Master of the Underworld. He deserves death! Or maybe are you still just refusing to accept the truth? I should probably help you face that reality."

Without further warning, Azrael spread out her black wings in all their glory as a mean for clarification.

Chloe gasped in shock. Totally petrified, she could not look away from those magnificent wings from which a heavenly glow emanated. Those were angel wings! Azrael was an angel, the Angel of Death! Which meant that Lucifer was...

The Devil!

There was no longer any doubt possible. Lucifer was the Devil and the Angel of Death had come for him. Everything was true, God, angels, demons, Heaven and Hell. For a long moment, those few thoughts turned over and over in Chloe's mind as in a perpetual loop, preventing her from thinking clearly.

A voice that seemed to be coming from far away finally reached Chloe's ears and got through the thick fog in which she seemed to be caught in. It took her a while to come to understand the word that was tirelessly repeated, as if to capture her attention.

"Detective! Detective!

She managed at long last to tear her eyes away from this divine apparition and rest a faraway look on her partner who was calling to her anxiously.

"Are you okay, Detective? You have to pull yourself together, everything will be fine, no harm will come to you. I promise! I'm so sorry you had to learn the truth that way!" Lucifer was well aware that he was babbling, but he was so afraid to see Chloe break down under this revelation. The dazed air she wore didn’t tell him anything good. However, he had no idea what he should be supposed to say to help her get back to Earth.

Azrael took advantage of Chloe's confusion to try and influence her. "Your life is worth so much more than the Devil's, Detective. You must kill him and save yourself, then he will lose the hold he has over you and your life and you will be free!"

Lucifer didn’t dare to speak and contradict Azrael on the fact that he had a hold over Chloe. He held his breath, hoping that Chloe would finally decide to kill him and thus save her own life. But another part of him, more selfish, secretly hoped that she would not. He had hoped for so long that she would accept him for what he was... if she killed him now, he knew that he would be devastated for the rest of eternity. But it was better for her to kill him instead of dying by his fault. He would have to learn to live with it knowing that at least she would survive.

After a few seconds of heavy silence, the Detective slowly raised her weapon towards Lucifer. Chloe's teary eyes searched for the Devil's as if seeming to want to apologize silently for what she was about to do.

Lucifer smiled at her softly, eyes also wet, and gave her a nod as if to give her his approval. Chloe's hands were shaking badly, but she now looked determined.

In a fraction of a second, Chloe changed the angle of her shot of 45 degrees to her left to fire three shots at the Angel of Death, aiming at her head and chest. She hit her, of that she was certain, but strangely there was no trace of blood whatsoever and the angel was still standing, straight and proud, even displaying a contemptuous smirk.

Azrael rubbed her forehead where Chloe thought she hit her. "Interesting, this little pinching feeling! I’ve never been shot before."

Chloe heard the Sinnerman giggle uncontrollably behind her and felt his grip loosen over her throat and around her waist.

That was at this precise moment that the world seemed to rock around her in a whirlwind of sparkling light and white feathers.

It was the opening that Lucifer had been desperately waiting for since the beginning of this impossible situation. For a brief moment, the Sinnerman had loosened his hold around Chloe and more importantly, he had sufficiently exposed his neck and head for Lucifer to attempt an attack.

Determined to take advantage of this unexpected opening, Lucifer spread his wings while leaning his body forward; ready to pounce on his prey like the predator he was. He let himself be guided by his old fighter's reflexes and without wasting any more time aimed directly at the Sinnerman's head. He stretched his left wing towards his neck with inhuman speed and precision, slicing the flesh of this foul bastard half way through, thanks to the sharp feathers at the end of the wing, and without even brushing the Detective. Lucifer was perfectly aware that this minor attack would not kill this demon. To see him crumble to the ground while emitting some bloody bubbling sounds was nevertheless extremely pleasing. The Sinneman having dropped his weapon during his fall, the Devil quickly turned to his sister, relieved that Chloe no longer was in any immediate danger. Not giving Azrael time to replicate, he lacerated her chest with his other wing, sending her crashing roughly against the wall behind her.

Barely stunned by this attack, the Angel of Death was already beginning to get back on her feet by supporting herself on the cracked wall. Lucifer hastened to enlace a numb Chloe with his left wing and quickly bring her to him to hold her protectively in his arms. This done, the Devil deployed his wings and rushed as fast as he could toward the main window of the living room, which he smashed with a precise winged movement while protecting his precious charge from the debris.

It was at this moment that Lucifer felt a throbbing pain piercing his lower back. He didn’t let this little detail stop him in his frenzied flight though. Chloe clinging desperately to him, Lucifer rushed through the broken window and flapped his wings powerfully to bring them rapidly away from the current threat.

He heard Chloe cry out in surprise, and probably in fear, at the unusual sensation of losing her footing.

He hastened to reassure her with as calm a voice as he could muster, but loudly enough to be heard over the sound of the wind now howling fiercely around them due to the speed he had already reached in his flight.

"Don’t be afraid, Detective! I'll never let anything bad happen to you! I’ve got you! "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you like it? Feel free to write me a comment or some suggestions for the next chapters. It always makes my day when you do. I just love reading your impressions and it gives me the drive to continue writing! Thank you all for following this story. You are awesome!


	6. An Unsuspected Reality

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys! Here is a very long chapter just for you. I hope it will compensate for the long time it took me to write it. A special thank you to my wonderful Beta, Apparition, who so kindly takes her time to help me improve my writings. And I also want to thank everyone who already wrote a comment on this story or kudoed it. Your kind words warm my heart! And now, place for the story! Enjoy!

As they rose into the sky, the buildings beneath them were visibly shrinking. She’d hesitated to open her eyes, but the fear of being pursued had won over that of facing her new reality. Strangely, Azrael was nowhere in sight. Perhaps she’d been more hurt by Lucifer's attack than Chloe had initially believed. Or perhaps she was simply reluctant to leave a half-dead demon behind where any human could stumble upon it. Whatever the reason, Chloe was very glad not to have to worry about another impending attack. Her current situation was complicated enough as it was.

She tightened her hold around Lucifer's torso, taking care not to impede the movements of his wings.

His wings…

With her face half buried in the hollow of his neck, Chloe couldn’t help but admire his majestic, divine wings, which probably only a few humans over the ages had ever had the chance to observe. Of an immaculate white and seeming to diffuse a soft heavenly glow, they were beating powerfully at a steady and strangely soothing pace.

It was simply surreal!

Her mind was telling her that this situation was simply impossible, but all her increased senses were shouting at her how very true everything was. She could hear the wind blowing loudly into her ears, feel the sweet familiar scent of his cologne mixed with the spicy scent of his shampoo, feel the sculpted muscles of his back moving under her hands, and even his supernatural heart beating rapidly against her chest.

Everything was real, and she knew it very well. She tried to convince herself that she should be in a state of panic, terrorized at the thought of being in the arms of the Devil, so completely at his mercy, but simply couldn’t bring herself to bring forth the feeling. On the contrary, she felt strangely calm now that the threat seemed over, even serene. How could she be afraid of Lucifer? He was her friend, her partner, and she was fully confident that he would do everything in his power to protect her. She’d never felt safer than in this very moment.

Lucifer had quickly climbed to a high altitude, probably to avoid being spotted by anyone into this sky still partially lit by the setting sun, and after what seemed to be only a few moments, he began to descend almost into a dive. Chloe closed her eyes and fought the gagging feeling that assaulted her. She heard and suddenly felt Lucifer’s wings redeploy completely to slow down their descent and it was only a few seconds later that they finally landed on his penthouse’s balcony.

Lucifer gently released his grip around her and lowered her down on the floor. Maybe because of the sensational flight, or her clinging to him so forcefully with her legs crossed around his waist, or possibly a little bit of both, but as she made contact with the ground her legs suddenly gave away under her. Lucifer immediately caught her and pulled her back against him into a tight embrace.

She would have preferred to stay snuggled like that against him longer, indefinitely, to delay as much as possible this inevitable moment that they now both had to face. When she finally felt that her legs would support her, she took a long breath before opening her eyes and finally, slowly disengaging from their embrace. 

Chloe could only stare at him in awe and silence, rendered mute by this vision of divinity. At long last, she was finally seeing him for who he really was; Lucifer Morningstar, immortal and millennial being, fallen angel, and who was also called the Devil.

How could she have thought for a single moment that this magnificent being could simply be human?

Lucifer seemed increasingly uncomfortable under her intense scrutiny. The way he had of avoiding looking into her eyes or of constantly moving his half-folded wings betrayed his agitation. An agitation that was now completely shared by the detective. She had no idea what to say, how to address this inconceivable subject that had the potential of changing everything between them.

"Lucifer..." The reality of his identity hit her hard at the simple act of uttering that name which made her forget what she was about to say.

He risked an embarrassed look at her. "The one and only, Lucifer Morningstar, at your service!" He bent forward slightly, in an earnest bow.

The movement made him grimace. He instinctively brought his hand towards his lower back to find the origin of the pain that had been bothering him for a while already. He gripped the incongruous object and pulled it out from his left flank in a quick movement.

He brought the weapon to eye level to analyse it. "Bloody Hell, of course it couldn’t be a simple knife, it had to be a demon’s blade! That's my luck!"

Then he noticed the detective's eyes widening in horror. Misinterpreting the meaning of her fear, he hastened to reassure her by raising both hands, and at the same time the dagger, into the air. "Don’t be afraid, Detective, I won’t hurt you, I promise, you have nothing to fear from me!"

She rushed to him. "You can be so dumb sometimes!"

Her comment was addressing both Lucifer's words as well as his insane action of removing the dagger without thinking about the consequences. But what else could she have expected from him? After all, Lucifer had always been the kind to act before thinking.

She gripped his left shoulder with one hand and forced him to turn around while pushing against his wing at the same time with her other hand to try and see his lower back to assess the damages. She could only see a stain of blood that was expending rapidly.

Part of her brain realized that she was touching an angel’s wing... but she refused to be distracted by this detail that had the power of making her lose all her countenance. She was not going to panic and collapse in front of this new overwhelming reality. She simply refused to.

"Take off your clothes right now!" She ordered in an unequivocal tone.

Lucifer was slowly recovering from his surprise at realising that the detective was acting as if she were not afraid of him. Or was she just in shock and did not fully realize what was happening?

He hid his confusion behind his usual humor. "Don’t tell me that the sight of my wings gives you that kind of fantasy? Had I known I would have shown them to you long before."

She answered him with exasperation. "Seriously!? Do you really think it's the right time to make that kind of jokes, Lucifer?" She hurriedly put her hand against the wound to apply pressure.

It felt like a slap to his face. Of course she didn’t want to be hit on by the Devil! Who would? He was so stupid! How could he have already forgotten his plan to give her time to assimilate the news before attempting to win her back? Anyway, he suspected that this kind of behavior was far from what would make her fall for him again. Instead of throwing bad jokes at her he should consider himself lucky that she wasn’t already running away.

"I'm sorry, Detective."

Seeing his disheartened face, Chloe softened. "I didn’t mean to be so snappy, I'm sorry, but you’re bleeding badly and we have to deal with it fast before you bleed to death."

"Oh really?"

Curious, he turned to try to see his wound, happy for the change of subject, but it only served to amplify his pain. Dizziness started to come over him. Maybe he really was losing a lot of blood after all. He staggered slightly on his legs and Chloe stabilized him by hugging him tightly around the waist while still keeping a pressure on his wound.

His mortality in the detective’s presence was apparently catching up with him. His supernatural metabolism would not start repairing the damages inflicted by the infernal weapon as long as the detective remained close to him. But who else could protect her from Azrael and the Sinnerman now that they knew she was the key to defeating the Devil? As long as Maze was still outside of town, Chloe would have to stay by his side, period.

He decided to let Chloe take care of his injury as to give himself some time, and with luck it might even be enough to prevent the worst. An injury inflicted by a demonic weapon was already difficult enough to heal even with a celestial metabolism; he didn’t want to imagine what it could do to his momentarily mortal anatomy.

A new wave of dizziness swept over him and he leaned on the bay window, trembling. "Maybe I should sit down before we look at this."

Chloe helped him move inside and walk to the couch, supporting him firmly. She began to wonder if he would be able to sit despite his long wings when without warning, they just disappeared as suddenly as they’d appeared. Chloe stopped short, speechless in front of this reminder of her supernatural circumstances. She shook her head to clear her mind before helping her partner sit down.

For the first time, Lucifer noticed all the blood covering Chloe's upper back, neck and right shoulder. He forgot all his pain in a second as a shiver ran through him.

His words came out more like a strangled murmur. "You're hurt, you're bleeding!"

Chloe followed her partner's panicked gaze. "Oh that? It's only the Sinnerman's blood that splashed over me when you almost sliced off his head. That was an awesome maneuver by the way."

And she winked at him. Winked! He could not believe it! How could she keep her cool that way after all that happened? His detective would never stop surprising him. He only had a few seconds to pull himself back together before Chloe took things into her hands.

She hurriedly went to retrieve the first-aid kit under the bathroom sink, following Lucifer's directives, while he took off his bloody clothes. Chloe was surprised to see that the kit was already half empty. Strange, she didn’t remember Lucifer being injured lately. She quickly forgot that slight detail when she looked at his wound. The cut was only an inch wide, but it bled profusely. She hastened to apply a strong pressure over it with a few gauzes to stop the bleeding.

"How deep do you think the dagger went in?" She asked.

"About three inches I’d say. Its curved shape did not allow it to penetrate further."

Chloe felt a thrill of horror run through her. "Three inches! The damages must be damn important! I should bring you to a hospital."

"Seriously, Detective! You can’t truly be considering that? They wouldn’t know what to do with me. And anyway, you don’t need to worry about my health since I can regenerate, or I should begin to as soon as the circumstances are right."

Lucifer's words reminded her that she alone was responsible for his suffering, if Azrael's words were to be believed. Unable to control any longer all the emotions that were jostling inside her, she finally burst into tears, much to the Devil’s utter dismay.

She however managed to speak in between sobs. "I'm so sorry, Lucifer, it's all my fault!" She covered her face with one hand as if to hide her shame. "I’m the one who makes you vulnerable. It's my fault if you're hurt."

Lucifer couldn’t believe that she would worry about him, the Devil, before herself when she’d just heard all those revelations that were assuredly in the process of shaking up all her vision of the world and of her own existence. He was certainly not going to let her blame herself for what happened.

"Don’t take all the credit, Detective. A demonic dagger can even hurt the Devil, whether you're around or not. It had nothing to do with you. As for my mortality problem, well... you're no more responsible for that. You see, my Father has a strange sense of humor and the bad habit of trying to manipulate me in every possible ways. You just happened to have the bad luck of being involved in one of His manipulations."

"Your Father... You mean... God?" She had difficulty saying His name aloud, as if the simple fact of naming Him was going to make Him real.

"Precisely! I see you’re following, Detective." He teased with a small smile.

Chloe continued her reflections aloud, too absorbed in them to react to Lucifer's teasing. "It is He who’s responsible for my influence on your immortality, but why, and why me? I don’t understand." Her tears had stopped, now that she was distracted by all these questions.

Lucifer was definitely not ready to go into the details of her miraculous conception and the fact that his Father had apparently created her for him and him alone. He decided to stay evasive as he was so good at.

"My Dad's reasons are still obscure and he’s not used to explaining his actions, especially not to the most interested person."

Suddenly, a disturbing possibility crossed Chloe's mind. Could it be possible that...? It could explain a lot and to say the truth, she couldn’t blame him if it was. She was afraid to hear the answer to that question, but the time to avoid reality, as difficult as it might be to face, had now come to an end. She would no longer make the mistake of avoiding difficult topics with Lucifer.

Eyes still riveted on his wound and the bandage she was applying on now that the blood flow had ceased, she ventured to ask in a hesitant voice. "Lucifer, is that why you constantly push me away, why you keep your distance from me, because I'm a danger to you? Don’t misunderstand me, I’m not judging you, in fact I would understand perfectly well that you don’t want me around more than you already have to for work."

"What?" Lucifer had trouble realizing what she’d just said. "Of course not! Being mortal around you doesn’t bother me at all. Well, maybe a little at first when I discovered your influence on me, but I soon got over it."

Chloe recalled the shock on Lucifer's face when she shot and injured him about two years ago. His surprise at the sight of his own blood had not been feigned after all, and she now understood all too well his strange behavior of the following few days during which he’d avoided her like the plague. She could not help smiling at the memory. But soon, her smile turned into a grimace.

"But you could have died today because of me." She raised her tears filled eyes again towards him. "I'm a danger to you, Lucifer." And her voice cracked on those last words.

More moved than he was willing to admit to himself, Lucifer took one of Chloe's hands between his two to comfort her. "Azrael was right, your life is worth a lot more than mine, Detective, and I'm willing to face more than you can ever imagine to keep you safe."

There was no greater truth than his last words. She could see it in his eyes, feel it in his voice, but above all, he’d proved it several times. He already died twice for her apparently and had been ready to die again today and return to Hell to save her life.

"Like dying for me?" She asked softly.

She couldn’t turn her gaze from his now. There were so many emotions in his sweet eyes. If only she could read into it to finally know what she really meant to him.

Lucifer looked uncomfortable. "Ha! That! It was nothing really, you know how I am, always diving headfirst into trouble without thinking. I guess I’ve been lucky to manage to come back afterwards."

But Chloe had no intention of letting him get away with it so easily. "I understand that the first time must have been when Malcolm shot you." Seeing that Lucifer didn’t deny it, she continued. "How did you come back to life if you died that day?" Seeing the grimace he made, she realized that he hadn’t intended to tell her about it. She wondered how many other secrets he still hid from her. Probably many, she concluded.

"I made a deal with my Father to come back."

He was hoping that Chloe would content herself with that, but quickly realized she wouldn’t. She was staring at him with a raised eyebrow to make him understand that she was not going to be satisfied with this half-answer.

With a sigh of resignation he continued. "I promised Him to handle the situation with my Mother who had just escaped Hell in exchange for His allowing me to return to my body to save you."

Stunned, Chloe opened her mouth but could not decide what question to ask. He’d made a deal with God, which he hated, to save Trixie and she? His mother had been held in Hell and escaped? He had a mother? Was he talking about Charlotte Richards? As much as she would have liked to get those answers, she realized it wasn’t the right time for that. She had other questions that disturbed her much more and she intended for them to be answered.

Unfortunately, just as she was about to pursue with another question, Lucifer's phone rang. Visibly annoyed by the interruption, he hastened to retrieve his cell phone in his jacket that he had placed beside him on the couch and on which now rested the bloody dagger. Seeing the identity of the caller, he made a grunt of discontent. He looked up at her for a split second, as if hesitating to answer it in front of her. He finally closed his phone and put it on the table in front of him.

"Aren’t you going to answer? It might be important."

"Some people are just not worth it, Detective." He replied without hesitation.

Despite his words, she could see the doubt on her partner's face. He seemed troubled. The cell started to make a noise, indicating that a text message had been received. Clearly irritated, Lucifer grabbed his cell phone again to read the message. His face fell and he hastened to answer by composing a message of his own.

«Don’t call the police! The blood is that of a demon, not hers, you arrived too late, princess already rescued. Lucifer 1: Cain 0!»

Lucifer sent his message with a victorious smile.

"Who was that? Nothing urgent I hope?"

"Oh, it was... a friend, I guess. And no, he's not important. The situation is now under control."

A friend... damn it! She too should probably contact a friend... Marcus. She imagined him arriving at her place and discovering what would look like a crime scene. She jumped out of the couch and instinctively reached for her cell phone in her pocket, but she had no pocket since she was wearing a dress.

"Shit! I really have to make a call. Can I borrow your cell phone? I have to cancel this date before Marcus arrives at my place."

"Of course, Detective." He handed her his cell phone, making sure that she wouldn’t see the last text message he just sent.

Chloe went out on the balcony to make a discreet call. Fascinated, Lucifer watched her walk up and down during her conversation. He could not believe that she was still here, with him. Logically, she should have ran out screaming, but instead she was taking care of him and her rational side was pushing her to get answers to her questions. His detective really was a marvel!

It was obvious to him how he was getting weaker and weaker by the minute. His breathing was faster, the beating of his heart had also accelerated and resounded inside his temples, and he could feel the dizziness by only sitting now. There was no way to know how long he could go on like that.

Chloe came back inside with a reassured air. "I was able to join him before he got to my place. I just told him that something unexpected came up and that we had to postpone our dinner."

Lucifer 2: Cain 0, thought Lucifer. He told himself that a small wound was finally worth it if it prevented those two from spending the evening together.

He could understand why Marcus had lied to Chloe by not telling her that he had seen the damage at her apartment. What good would it do to ask questions that he knew full well she could not answer honestly? It was probably simpler that way. Despite knowing this, Lucifer couldn’t help but be bothered by the fact that Cain was lying to her. On the other hand, he felt not much better himself by hiding the truth from her as well. But what choice did he have since he’d promised Cain not to reveal his secret to anyone. In spite of himself, he had to remain silent for fear of rousing suspicion from the detective.

As soon as Chloe returned him his cell phone, Lucifer sent Maze a message asking her to suspend her manhunt and come back to town as soon as possible to protect Chloe while he would take a few hours to regenerate.

Lucifer had hoped that Chloe would forget the thread of her thoughts with this setback, but she was far too bright for that.

After sitting down again and checking that the bandage was holding and not already soaked with blood, Chloe continued her interrogation. "And when was the second time?"

Lucifer groaned inwardly. He would have preferred for her to forget about that precise topic. He explained the facts nonetheless while avoiding her gaze. "When you were poisoned. How do you think I got the recipe for the antidote? I went back to Hell to have a little conversation with Dr. Carlisle, and since I hadn’t gotten my wings back yet, I simply had to die to get down there."

"As simple as that?" Chloe murmured, stunned.

But her sarcasm escaped him. "Actually it wasn’t that simple since I had to shock myself to death with a defibrillator, only to end up as a prisoner in a cell where I had to relive over and over the horrible day I killed my brother Uriel, and to add to the insult, my Mother was forced to come down and rescue me as if I still were a little kid. My Mother! Can you imagine? If she still happened to be in this universe, I’m fairly sure I’d be condemned to hear about it for millennia to come. At least my adventure ended on a positive note since Linda was able to bring me back to life, using the defibrillator once again, and the antidote was finally effective to save you. You know everything now!" He risked a nervous glance at her to find only consternation on her beautiful face. "Don’t look at me that way, we have to take some risks for our partner!"

He was terrified that she would feel indebted to him for saving her life and that it could affect her judgment. The last thing he wanted was for her to stay by his side only by obligation. What he wanted was to allow her to use her free will, not to prevent her from exercising it.

What he’d done for her was inconceivable! And beyond that, Chloe didn’t know what to think of it. Had it simply been the duty of protecting his partner that pushed him to take such risks and to die for her? Very possible. She then remembered Lucifer's words when trying to convince her to kill him to save her own life less than 30 minutes ago: «Please, this is the only way for you to stay alive and that's all that really matters to me.» She thought there was in it more than a sense of duty and that was apparently what Azrael also thought of the two times he’d lost his life for her. However, both of them could be mistaking. But if he wasn’t ready to tell her what she really meant to him, she would not push him to talk about it, not yet at least.

"You know," he began with a hint of humor in his voice, "it feels good to be able to talk to you like this without your thinking that I’m a lunatic." He expected to make her smile, but the opposite happened instead.

Chloe's eyes immediately filled up with tears again. Refraining a sob, she looked away, ashamed. "I'm so sorry I never believed you when you were only saying the truth all along! And for always thinking that you were disconnected from reality. I should have put more trust into you and understood that you were only protecting me all this time. I should have known, I should have understood, I am a detective damn it! Instead of what I believed you to be selfish, I let you down, and I even turned my back on you. I'm so ashamed!" She burst into tears again, unable to contain her sobbing anymore.

Lucifer felt his heart crack at the sight of his detective suffering by his fault. Without thinking about what he was doing, he brought her to him and enlaced her. She hugged him back tightly while resting her head against his chest where she finally allowed herself to let go and cry like she needed to.

It was too hard for him to bear, he had to make her feel better. "You know Detective, most of the time I truly am the most selfish bastard on Earth." He finally had the desired effect of drawing out a little laugh through her sobbing.

He continued in a soft, almost hesitant voice. "How could you have believed in what I was saying? Sane people cannot really contemplate the possibility that the Devil walks among them, and so I take advantage of that fact every day by saying to whoever wants to hear that I am the Devil. I could never be so open with the truth if people believed me. The fact is, I should have proved to you who I am long before today. If there is one of us who has failed to trust the other, it’s me! To be completely honest, I was afraid..., afraid of your reaction. I wasn’t ready to... to lose what we had developed - you and me."

Without realizing it, he’d begun caressing her back to sooth her pain away. "And I was very serious this morning when I asked for your forgiveness. I’m the one who failed you! I was so focused on getting my hands on the Sinnerman, who I wrongly thought to be responsible for the return of my wings, that I forgot about the one person who most matters to me in this life; you!"

Lucifer stopped talking, as if trying to digest what he just confessed. Chloe stood still, frozen into place would be a more exact description. She could hardly believe what she just heard. Did she mean that much to him? The Devil never lied after all, so he said, and she believed him. In a way, she felt as if she had always known, without ever daring to believe it as a way to protect herself. She tightened her hold around him and buried her face a little more against his bare chest. She was afraid to talk, to tell him that he was just as important to her, lest her emotions take over and she said something he was not ready to hear. Even if she counted that much to him, it didn’t mean that his feelings for her were of amorous nature. After all, he had done everything he could to prove that he wasn’t in love with her. There had to be a reason for his actions.

After pulling himself together, Lucifer continued. "It was I who let you down, Detective, you just reacted to my incomprehensible and unacceptable behavior. I acted like a fool and I deserved for you to turn away from me. You have no reason at all to blame yourself. I even wonder how you’ve been able to put up with me for so long."

She chuckled softly. "I guess there must be some good sides to you after all. 

"There might be a few, indeed." He smiled softly and gave in to the impulse of kissing the top of her head.

Almost in a whisper, he went on to confess his last regrets. "I wish I could have told you everything about me in much better circumstances, but you can be so stubborn sometimes!" He drew another chuckle from her with this accusation. "And above all, I regret endangering you by simply being in your life."

Chloe raised her head as she straightened on her seat and stared at him seriously. "I don’t regret anything, Lucifer. You are my friend, my partner, and I too am ready to risk my life to protect you."

A small smile emerged on Lucifer's face without his consent. Yes, she was saying the truth. She had already proved it by shooting at Azrael instead of him. "It was very stupid what you did earlier, Detective!" Her eyes bulged in outrage. "You should have shot me instead of putting yourself into even more danger. It was very noble of you, I have to admit, but now you’ve become a target for my sister and the Sinnerman. Who knows what they could do to you next time? It would have been better if I’d returned to Hell without any more delay."

Chloe frowned. Her tears had finally stopped. "It would have been better for whom, for you? I don’t believe it! Or maybe for me? Know that I could never look at myself in the mirror if it turned out that I’d be the one responsible for your death. You can’t seriously think that I could have killed you in cold blood?"

"But you should have, Detective! It would have made things a lot simpler. After all, I'm the Devil, the vilest and most treacherous person to have walked this planet." He repeated the murderous words his sister had used only a few moments ago. "I deserve to burn in Hell!"

Chloe's eyes widened in astonishment. "I could never believe that, Lucifer!"

"What, that I am the Devil? Haven’t you seen my wings?"

"I'm not talking about that, of course I believe you, but I will never believe that you are vile and treacherous. I know you too well for that. Even if I didn’t know your true identity before today, I've always known who you really are, Lucifer, and you're not a bad person, quite the contrary. You are more of an angel than you think." She finished softly.

He chuckled in indignation. "Don’t let yourself be fooled by the sight of my angelic wings, Detective, I am far from being an angel. You would never think so if you knew all that I’ve done in the past."

Chloe nodded thoughtfully. "I believe you. You’ve probably done things that you’re not very proud of, but I also see that you regret them bitterly. That fact alone proves that my faith in you is justified." Lucifer winced at her use of the term "faith," which made her smile again. "I know you're not perfect, Lucifer, but from the little I've seen of your sister and brother Amenadiel, you're probably more of an angel than any of them will ever be."

Lucifer wanted to argue, to say that she was wrong, that he was not and would never be an angel ever again, but something stopped him. Maybe it was the way she looked at him with a destabilizing sincerity, and something else that he could see in her eyes but couldn’t name. The simple realisation that she believed in him was creating in the depth of his being a warm and soothing sensation such as he had never felt before. 

He managed to formulate an answer in spite of the tight knot in his throat. "Thank you, Detective. What you think means a lot to me."

Chloe squeezed his hand between hers in answer. He would have liked to lose himself in her sweet smile and sparkling blue eyes, however, this almost perfect moment was quickly interrupted when he noticed her beginning to frown as she was watching him.

"You look awful! Your breathing seems laborious and you are getting paler." She glanced again at the bandage to find it already completely soaked with blood. She also noticed that the left side of his abdomen had inflated. "I think you're bleeding internally!" She said, panicked.

"It's okay, Detective! I've already told you not to worry about me. Maze will probably be here in a few hours so she can take you away and see to your safety. Until then, I have to protect you." He didn’t see any other options.

She could feel the urgency rising inside her. "But you don’t have a few hours, Lucifer. At this rate, you will be long dead when Maze finally arrives. I have to leave now or it will be too late." She was already standing up, ready to leave the penthouse at a run.

Lucifer had to admit that his energy was decreasing at an alarming rate. She was probably right, he could never hold on for so long. Nevertheless, to him her safety was way more important than his own. Yet, if he died, who would protect her? Nothing and no one could then prevent Azrael from exercising her vengeance on the detective. He had to find another way to protect her.

He grabbed her wrist gently but insistently to stop her from running away. "Amenadiel! He'll be able to protect you in the meantime, he might not be as strong as Maze or me since he lost his wings, but he's still a fierce fighter. He'll keep you safe." He tried to sound more confident in his brother's abilities than he really was.

Chloe nodded slowly, thinking that it looked like an acceptable compromise. Amenadiel would certainly arrive quickly enough and Lucifer could probably hold on until then. Probably... And she would be safe, protected by an angel... or was he rather another fallen angel now? He no longer had his wings? Why? She added those new questions to the tons already left unanswered that were invading her mind since Azrael's revelations.

"Okay, but if he's not here in 15 minutes, I'm leaving! I will not risk your life to save mine, Lucifer."

He could read all the determination in her eyes. "That’s a deal, Detective."

He gently released his hold around her wrist, reluctant to lose that physical contact with her. He finally turned his gaze away from her and hurried to call Amenadiel. He simply told him to come ASAP to protect Chloe from Azrael, who was at long last trying to extract her revenge, just long enough for Lucifer to recover from an incapacitating injury.

Chloe had taken back her seat close to him after recovering the first aid kit. She quickly removed the soiled bandage and once again exercised pressure on the wound with new gauzes. Even though there was nothing to do against his internal bleeding, she figured that stopping him from bleeding out could possibly save him some precious seconds.

She would not allow anything bad to happen to him. Never could she live with that weight on her conscience. Never could she live without... without him! That sudden realization stunned and confused her. The discovery of his unimaginable secret and the new light it shed on their tumultuous relationship had somehow increased her feelings for him a hundredfold. She was in love with the Devil! Utterly and completely. And she could no longer imagine spending the rest of her life away from him. This truth was frightening, not because of who he was, but simply because she had no idea if he returned her feelings. Was he even able to love a simple human? She had no way to know. Whatever he might feel for her, he didn’t seem ready to face it right now. And the truth was, Chloe was way too scared to confess her own feelings by fear of a bitter rejection in case it turned out that she represented something more platonic to him. She tried to convince herself that she could accept whatever he was willing to give, but she knew she was lying to herself.

Anyway, now was definitely not the time to talk about feelings. Lucifer's life was in danger and she had to make sure he got through the night alive. He claimed that his angelic metabolism would be able to overcome this injury and she desperately wanted to believe it. What about Azrael and the Sinnerman? Who would protect Lucifer from that threat while he regained his strength? Staying awake all night was out of the question for him if he wanted to recover from this injury.

A shiver ran through her as she imagined him facing them alone while still vulnerable. "Lucifer, you can’t stay alone tonight! In the state you’re in, you’d be an easy target for your sister and the Sinnerman."

Once again, she was unfortunately right and he knew it. If he wanted to resume protecting Chloe soon, he needed to sleep, which meant exposing himself to harm. There was no other choice now, he would have to trust the one person who turned his life upside down.

He let out a grunt of defeat. "Very well, I'm going to call... a friend who owes me. He should at least appreciate the danger of the situation. Let's just say, that he likes to put his life in danger."

"Is this the same friend who was apparently not important just a moment ago?" Lucifer's silence was enough to answer her question. "Who is it, if I may ask?" Seeing his hesitation, she forced his hand a little. "You know you can trust me, Lucifer. I only need to make sure you'll be in good hands."

The detective's concern for his well-being touched him deeply, but he’d made a deal with Pierce and could not go back on his word. He thought of a compromise that might be acceptable and that should satisfy the detective in his ability to trust her.

"Actually, it’s Cain!" He blurted out unceremoniously. He saw in the detective’s eyes all the surprise and uncertainty that this name created in her. "Yes, yes, Cain from the Bible!" He continued. "I don’t think you'd like to meet him though, he's not a good man, and despite all his charms, he's nothing but a skilled manipulator ready to do anything to get what he wants. But fortunately, our goals get along for the moment, so I am confident he will adequately fulfill his part of the deal we made. As long as he doesn’t get what he really wants, I’m probably too precious in his eyes for him to try to play me. He'll protect me, be sure of it!"

Cain really existed? What else would turn out to be true of all the things she heard since childhood? Probably more than she was ready to hear at the moment. She ran her hands through her hair, wondering if this new revelation was going to be what made her lose it. No way, she would not break down again! She was already not proud of having fallen apart when seeing Azrael's wings and discovering that everything Lucifer had told her since she knew him was true. She would not accept it to happen again, not now at least. There would always be time to have an existential crisis later if needed.

She decided not to pursue her investigation into this mysterious Cain. Anyway, she already had too many unanswered questions to risk adding others. Moreover, Lucifer didn’t look to be in a good enough shape to endure further questioning. His needs had to come before her own need for clarification.

Lucifer finally received a text message from Maze confirming that she would be back in town in about three hours. He informed her of a small change of plan, asking her to join Amenadiel to protect Chloe instead of coming to the penthouse. He would send her the coordinates once Chloe was safely hidden away. Although Maze quickly complied with his request, the reply from his former bodyguard made it clear that she didn’t like one bit the idea of leaving him alone with Cain.

While awaiting for Amenadiel’s arrival, Chloe went to clean the Sinnerman’s blood that had spurted all over her as best she could. Then, Lucifer made her choose one of his jackets to cover the remaining traces of blood still visible on her dress. It would be too dangerous for her to return to her apartment tonight to change. Lucifer also made a call to make sure the damage at her place would be repaired and any traces of their altercation erased in the early hours tomorrow.

After less than ten minutes, Amenadiel made his entrance. He went straight to Lucifer, who was still sitting on the couch, to assess his condition.

"You look terrible Brother! What did Azrael do to you?"

Chloe, who was now back beside Lucifer, cut him off right away before Lucifer could answer. "There’s no time to chat, Amenadiel! I have to leave now or Lucifer may never recover."

Amenadiel could feel the urgency in her voice and immediately understood the seriousness of the situation. Chloe's words also made him realize something else that shook him almost as much as the threat to his brother. Looking at Chloe with amazement, he opened his mouth, ready to verify his suspicions, just to close it immediately for fear of making an unforgivable mistake.

Chloe would have found it funny if she wasn’t so anxious for her partner's well-being. "Yes, I'm well aware that Lucifer is the Devil and that I make him vulnerable. You'll have time to recover from the shock later and I’ll even answer all the questions you might have, but we have to leave, now!" She was already standing up, her hand on Amenadiel's arm as to urge him on to leave as soon as possible. He nodded without a word and would have left right away if Lucifer hadn’t stopped them.

"Amenadiel, it's important that you take her to a place that no one knows about, like a remote motel, and you have to pay for everything with cash. Once there, send the coordinates to Maze so that she can join you. You both have to make sure to be doubly vigilant, not only do you have to keep an eye out for Azrael and the Sinnerman in case they follow you, but also to detect the possible spies who apparently work for our sister. I believe I might have come across one of them this afternoon when I was at the beach." Talking had become a challenge for Lucifer. It was really time for Chloe to get away from him.

However, he managed to quickly tell them what the man who followed him today had looked like and how he’d vanished as if by magic. Amenadiel had no more ideas than himself about the nature of this strange being who seemed to diffuse no energy, should it be celestial or demonic.

"If Maze will be joining us to protect Chloe, then who will watch your back, Brother?" Amenadiel enquired.

Lucifer had wished not to discuss the damned man again in front of Chloe, but it was obviously inevitable now.

"Hmm ... Cain?!"

Strangely, Amenadiel didn’t seem really surprised to hear that name. "And you trust him?" He only said.

Lucifer was still trying to formulate an answer that would not worry the detective, when a realization struck him. "You knew Cain was here?" In front of his silent brother, the Devil understood all the implications. "You always knew who he was, and the only possible explanation for you to recognize him is that you were the one who damned him at the beginning."

Amenadiel gazed down at the floor for a moment before looking back at his brother straight in the eyes. "Father ordered me to! I had no choice in the matter and only did my duty. I would do it all over again if he asked me. Pi... Cain deserved his punishment."

Lucifer risked a quick glance at Chloe to make sure she didn’t understand who they were talking about. Fortunately, the detective seemed utterly confused by their conversation.

Lucifer would have liked to inquire a lot more on the subject, but that would obviously have to wait. "We'll talk about it again tomorrow. Just make sure you come back with the detective only once I've called you, not before." He emphasized his last words to make sure the angel understood how there was no way Chloe could discover Cain's identity.

Amenadiel nodded in apparent understanding while looking at Chloe out of the corner of his eye.

When the time finally came for her to leave, Chloe hesitated. Lucifer was deadly pale, apparently at the end of his strength. He could barely keep his eyes open. What if it was the last time she saw him? What if his supernatural metabolism was not enough to heal this lethal wound? What if it was too late? She felt tears fill up her eyes once again.

She approached him one last time and leaned down to kiss him lightly on the cheek. She stroked his face and smiled softly at him. She managed to whisper a few words despite the sobs that threatened to escape her.

"Take care of yourself, Lucifer. I can’t lose my partner."

He tried to put into words the feelings he was reading in her beautiful blue eyes, but the mastery of human emotions still escaped him despite all his efforts in recent years to unravel their mysteries. Whatever they might be, the emotions he saw cross her gaze sparked in him an intense feeling of joy and well-being.

"I'm going to do my very best, Detective." He murmured in a breath.

He watched her leave without saying a word, well determined to do everything in his power to someday see that gleam in her eyes again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the reading. I will get back to the plot and shed a little bit more light on Ella’s secret in next chapter. Feel free to write me a comment. I live for them! Thanks for reading!


	7. The Prospect of a Very Long Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so devilishly happy that the show has been picked up! I feel wonderful, as you all probably do too. Yeah! Here is an action packed chapter with some new ideas I developed. I am looking forward to see if you’ll like it. Thanks to my amazing Beta, Apparition, who makes sure that my story sounds good. And now, enjoy!

"Do you see anyone who looks suspicious?" asked Amenadiel, who was scanning their surroundings.

Chloe examined each person in the vicinity of the exit of LUX's underground parking lot.Amenadiel had stopped the car there to make sure no one was watching them before continuing on their way. From there, they could see the end of the queue of customers eager to get inside to start the party. Nobody among them seemed to pay any attention to what was happening on their side of the building. Otherwise, there was hardly anyone else in sight.

"Apart from the young couple kissing across the main street, I don’t see anything, and even then, they seem way too busy to care about us, but you never know." Prudence dictated that she shouldn’t rule out any possibility, even if Chloe really didn’t believe that these two lovers could be spies in Azrael’s pay.

"And what do you think of that guy near the garbage cans?"

Chloe looked in the direction indicated by Amenadiel, not far from the queue. "What guy? I don’t see any."

"The one smoking a cigarette, leaning against the building."

"I'm sorry, but I don’t see anyone. Are you sure...?"

"You can’t see him?" Amenadiel's voice had risen an octave, realizing what it could mean.

The stunned look that Chloe sent him indicated that she too was beginning to understand the implications of her inability to see the man.

"What...?" Chloe didn’t have time to finish her sentence that Amenadiel was already out of the car and dashing towards the place where this strange apparition was supposed to be.

The black angel didn’t have to run for long before the man in question, or whatever he was, realized that he had been spotted. He quickly rushed off to the other side of the street where he plunged into an alley. Just seconds after him, Amenadiel turned the corner of the building to discover a completely deserted alley. He continued his course for a certain distance to confirm what he already knew; the man had just vanished. But it was impossible! He shouldn’t have had time to get to the other end of the alley so quickly and there was no other way out. Amenadiel tended to agree with Lucifer’s suggestion that it couldn’t be a heavenly or demonic being. Had it been the case, he would have felt it right away. And yet, Chloe had been unable to see him, which could only mean one thing...

He hurried back to Chloe, suddenly nervous to have left her alone, if only for a moment. To his greatest relief, she was still there, unscathed. She had come out of the car and moved a little up the street, apparently reluctant to follow him in pursuit of an invisible man.

She seemed quite relieved to see him back.

"Do you have any idea what it was?" she asked him once he rejoined her.

He gently steered her towards the car while looking nervously around them. "I have an idea, yes."

She raised a questioning eyebrow to urge him on.

For a moment, he hesitated to share his thoughts. But at the point where Chloe was, a supernatural phenomenon more or less should not change much about her situation, which already had to seem completely unreal to her.

"It looks to be a spirit, or a dead person’s soul if you prefer. That would explain why Lucifer and I can’t detect anything abnormal about it and that you can’t see it, unlike us. All angels can see human souls that often look as alike as two peas in a pod to their living counterpart."

"You mean that it was... a ghost?" She couldn’t believe how much her reality had changed in such a short time.

He winced slightly at her disconcerted looks. "I'm sorry, Chloe. Life will probably seem a lot more complicated to you from now on."

"No, that's fine!" she hastily replied.

After all, Ella apparently believed in ghosts and that didn’t seem to have affected her that much. Chloe told herself that it was just another of these surprising new facts that she would have to learn to accept as being an integral part of her new universe. After learning that her best friend was the Devil, believing in ghosts no longer seemed so far-fetched. She suddenly wondered what could have led Ella to believe so strongly in the existence of spirits. Then a strange idea crossed her mind.

"Can some humans see dead souls?"

Amenadiel smiled sweetly at her. That woman was falling back on her feet amazingly quickly, to say the least. She really had something special.

"Yes, although humans with this gift are very rare, if I can call this ability a gift. The majority of these people would probably tell you that it's more of a curse than anything. Few of them fully embrace their talent."

Chloe could very well imagine the difficulty of living surrounded by ghosts on a daily basis. That would probably be enough to make anyone become crazy. The more she thought about it, the more she believed that her new theory about Ella was plausible. She was planning to have a little chat with her about this in the near future to validate her suspicions...

Seeing that Chloe seemed satisfied with these explanations, Amenadiel continued with his other conclusions. "But this man’s description doesn’t correspond to the one Lucifer saw today. There must be at least two of them. When you think about it, it's quite logical that Azrael, the Angel of Death, uses spirits to spy on humans, and even to tail Lucifer and I. Since they can’t be seen by anyone but us, they don’t have to worry about getting anyone else's attention and therefore can follow us a lot more easily, not to mention the fact that they can disappear at will and appear wherever they want at any time."

Once back at the car, whose engine was still running, Chloe stopped Amenadiel to try and put her ideas in order.

"Do they really look humans to you? Shouldn’t they, I don’t know, look more ghostly or whatever?" She couldn’t help but think of all the horror movies she had seen involving spirits.

"Not necessarily, the more recent their death is, the more consistent they will appear and then, as time passes, their appearance will normally become more blurred and diffuse as they fully realize their new nature and dissociate themselves from humans around them. Some will come to understand and accept that their place is no longer on Earth and will then take the path of the afterlife, which will lead them either to Paradise or to Hell, depending on the life they led. But others will wander here for eternity."

Chloe tried to analyze this information rationally. "So, if I understand correctly, either Azrael recently killed these people to get some spies, or she took advantage of their deaths to use them."

Amenadiel was surprised by her vivacity of mind. He had not himself begun to analyze the situation from this angle. "Hum... it's possible, though I would rule out the possibility of Azrael killing them herself. Angels don’t have the right to kill humans."

"It didn’t seem to stop her from threatening me earlier, and I have no doubt that she wouldn’t have hesitated a second to at least give the Sinnerman the order to kill me. She could have asked him or someone else to kill those two men for her."

Amenadiel couldn’t contradict her logic. Azrael probably could do such a thing.

"Anyway, we have to leave as soon as possible before that guy comes back to follow us. Get behind the wheel, Chloe, it will allow me to make sure that he or any other spirit doesn’t follow us. A soul can travel at high speed, but there will always be a residual image of its passage and I will be able to see it now that I know what to look for."

So Chloe drove and made sure, by making long detours, to not be followed by a car while Amenadiel checked that no entity, heavenly or otherwise, tailed them either. She headed towards the outskirts of the city, where she knew some motels where the customer’s identity wasn’t required.

The night was promising to be very long. Chloe knew that it would be next to impossible for her to sleep tonight while Lucifer’s life was still in danger. Not to mention all the unanswered questions left to torment her mind and ensure that she would stay wide awake. She glanced at Amenadiel. He would probably not be sleeping at all either to protect her. Hum! As long as both of them were to stay awake until the early hours, she thought she could as well use that time and opportunity to get some answers to her numerous questions. Amenadiel had no idea what was about to hit him!  
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Cain should be there soon now. Lucifer had called him ten minutes ago asking for his help, and the damned man sounded very excited about the possibility of having to deal with heavenly or demonic beings who might have the ability to kill him. Lucifer only hoped that he would really seek to protect him and not just try to die if the threat came up.

Confined to his couch as he was at the moment, Lucifer regretted not having asked Amenadiel or Chloe to pour him a good glass of whisky before they left. He looked with envy at the few bottles of alcohol resting on his bar, knowing full well that he would never have the strength to get so far if he ever tried to get up.

He sighed for the umpteenth time, contemplating his situation. Chloe's departure had allowed the deterioration of his physical condition to stop, but the regenerative process was slow to kick in. He could barely feel any improvement. This time, he really had pushed his body to the limits of its viability. He closed his eyes for a moment. His eyelids were so heavy. He didn’t know how much longer he could stay awake.

Suddenly, he heard a familiar sound, which for the first time filled him with a certain dread.

Woosh!

The sound was immediately followed by the sensation of a breeze on his face and his bare chest, making the hairs stand on his body. He grabbed the demonic dagger still within his reach, while slowly opening his eyes to find the only person he could expect.

"Hello Azrael, I was waiting for you."

A smile slowly appeared on the Angel of Death’s face when she saw his lamentable condition. She couldn’t refrain from a laugh of wonder.

"It's even better than I was hoping for. Look at you, right at the gates of death, alone and helpless on top of it. It's an unexpected gift. I suspected you to be in a worse state than I, but never could I have hoped for such a perfect situation." She exuded satisfaction.

Lucifer noticed that she had changed her clothing following their altercation, thus erasing any apparent traces of injury. She was now wearing black leather trousers and a long collarless shirt of the same color with delicate silver embroideries. She was standing straight and at first glance did not seem affected by the chest wound he inflicted her earlier. No doubt that he accomplished some damages, but obviously it hadn’t been enough to stop her from pursuing her revenge. At least, the Sinnerman should undoubtedly require a few days of rest to recover from his state of near-decapitation. A slight consolation. Even though, considering his weakened state, Lucifer knew he stood no chance at surviving his sister’s wrath. His only chance to stay alive was to gain some time and hope to recover enough strength to attempt a defense, or that Cain arrived to save the day. In other words, he was no better than dead.

Either way, it looked like he had no other solution than to make her talk or force her to listen, and he knew exactly what to talk about to save himself some valuable time.

"I also miss Raziel very much, Azrael. I'm so sorry you had to suffer such a loss." He could so easily feel the pain, lurking deep inside him for so long, as if it was still fresh.

His sister's reaction was automatic. "How dare you play the understanding big brother with me? Even if you really missed Raziel and the others the slightest bit, though I strongly doubt it, or that you feel a little remorse for what you provoked, it could never be a sufficient punishment for your mistakes. You deserve to suffer every day of your life for eternity to pay for what you have done. You alone started this war, you alone have torn out our family and caused this blood bath."

He couldn’t find any words to defend himself, for everything his sister was saying was the truth.

Azrael walked slowly towards him, with all the presence of the Angel of Death. "Do you have any idea how many of our brothers and sisters fell during that battle because of you?"

Lucifer opened his mouth to answer, but closed it immediately, realizing he had never exactly known how many of them really disappeared. No one had deigned to give him an exact count, and he himself never dared to seek out the truth.

She snickered again. "That's what I thought! You never really cared. Who knows how many you’ve killed with your own hands? Maybe Raziel was even among your victims? But I know you would never tell me if it was the case. I don’t care, because I hold you responsible for everyone who died during that battle. For your information, know that 164 of our own disappeared forever that day, on both sides of the battlefield. Not to mention all those who have survived only to fall with you for having made the fault of following you into this madness. Contrarily to you, at least these are still in Hell to serve their sentence and it's high time that you went back to do the same, Lucifer."

The more he listened, the more he believed she was probably right. He could hardly remember how he came to think to have paid enough for his sins. Nothing could diminish his responsibility or the remorse he still felt, not even the fact that he never believed or wanted this rebellion to turn out so horribly, nor the fact that he hadn’t realized until too late that an angel killed by a celestial weapon would disappear for eternity. Could such a fault ever be redeemed? He doubted it. He probably didn’t deserve to live freely and to enjoy happiness on this Earth. After all he had done, eternal suffering probably was what he truly deserved.

"You're right, it's probably what I deserve, Azrael, but killing me will not bring Raziel and the others back to life. Believe me, if I could, I would give my life willingly to bring them all back."

Azrael was now standing just a step away from him, with her large black wings spread out behind her, threatening and terrible in her wrath. She didn’t seem to be taking his remorse seriously in the least.

"Even though your death can’t bring them back, at least I will have the feeling that justice has been served. Father may be too easy on you, but I don’t have his scruples in executing the sentence you require."

Lucifer wanted to laugh at hearing that his Father was too easy on him, but simply couldn’t find the strength to do so.

Without further warning, Azrael grabbed him tightly by the throat while preventing him from using the demonic dagger by holding his wrist into place. Reflexively, Lucifer spread his wings to try and repel her. She must have anticipated his action because in a heartbeat, he found himself with his wings nailed to the couch, held in place by those of his sister. With his only free hand, Lucifer tried in vain to pry her strong grip from his throat, but could barely find the strength to lift his arm.

Instead of smothering him to death, Azrael looked at him intensely with a victorious smile on her face, while holding him into place at her mercy. Lucifer quickly realized that strange multi-colored gleams had begun to dance in his sister's eyes. Against his will, he found himself captivated by this hypnotising vision.

"Had you a minimum of energy left, I would never have dared to try that, but in the state you are in, your soul is already almost at the gates of Hell. It won’t take me much to rip it out from you."

At those words, Lucifer felt a sudden force literally tear his mind apart and try to pull him out of his body. The pain, both mental and visceral, was unbearable. He struggled with all his might against this terrible force, yet he could feel his soul slowly being severed away from his carnal envelope as he lost his last remaining strengths. Soon, he began to feel himself drift away...

The force disappeared as suddenly as it appeared, and Lucifer felt his soul suddenly return to his body, like a stretched elastic band taking back its place. The sensation was dizzying, which left him totally disoriented for a moment. Despite this, his gaze immediately turned back to the threat that his sister still posed. Strangely, she was moving away from him, staggering backwards while holding the back of her head with both hands.

What the hell was happening?

His question was quickly answered when he saw Cain standing near Azrael with a shining white rock in his hand. Lucifer's gaze landed once more on his sister to discover at the same moment as she did that her hands brought to her head were now bloodied.

The Angel of Death seemed as confounded by the events as Lucifer was. How could a simple rock hurt an angel? He had no idea.

Azrael stared at the newcomer with an evil eye.

"You'll pay dearly for this affront!"

"But I'm counting on it!" replied Cain with a big smile. "Do your worst!" He looked as excited as a child on Christmas Eve.

Azrael rushed at him to grab his throat with both hands and lift him off the ground. She threw him against the bar’s counter where she held him, his back hard pressed against it, making a few bottles of alcohol clatter and brake in the process.

Though somewhat stunned by this attack, Cain laughed at her face, which only increased the already unrestrained anger of the angel.

"You won’t laugh as much when I tear your soul out and send it to rot in Hell."

Cain tried to speak again, but already Azrael’s power was at work and the man was quickly unable to emit any sound other than load moans of pain.

After only a few seconds, Cain's cries stopped when Azrael suddenly released him and pushed him off the bar, all panting but still alive. Consternation and surprise were all over the angel’s face in front of her inability to control a simple human soul.

"Who are you?" She breathed, voice trembling with rage and incomprehension.

From his half-sitting position on the floor, Cain coughed and rubbed his throat before attempting to speak in a voice rendered hoarse by the harsh abuse. "I thought you would recognize me even though we never officially met."

Azrael frowned and took the time to really study him for the first time since he attacked her. Eventually, a glimmer of understanding passed through her eyes.

"You are Cain!" She whispered.

"I knew you would get there."

Cain closed his hand around the rock now resting at his feet that he had dropped during the angel's attack. He made sure Azrael noted that he had his weapon back in hand.

The black-winged angel stepped back a few steps further away from the danger he represented. "I saw you a few years ago when I started getting interested in the potential of your protégé, Damien. But I wasn’t expecting our roads to ever cross."

Cain contented himself with sending her a smirk, while waiting for the question that was sure to follow soon. And she didn’t disappoint him.

"How could you harm me with a simple rock? It doesn’t make any sense."

She raised her hand again to her wound, which was still bleeding profusely. Her grimacing face proved that it was more painful than she probably wanted to let show.

Cain rose slowly, helping himself with the bar behind him.

"I have no intention of giving you an explanation. Know only that I am ready to strike you again now that I know you are of no use to give me what I want." He began to move towards her threateningly to support his words.

Rendered weak by her wounds as well as noticeably stunned, the Angel of Death quickly realized that she was unlikely to beat an immortal human under such conditions. Moreover, she was unaccustomed to facing a serious threat to her life, which destabilized her even more.

When Cain stepped even closer to her, Azrael panicked and hit him with her wing. He was thrown back violently against the bar. Not waiting to see the result of her attack, she fled running to the balcony from where she took off in the air to disappear into the night.

Although he’d had time to recover from the attack, Lucifer had been unable to rise to give Cain a hand. He could hardly believe how weak he felt at the moment and even more realize that he survived an attack from the Angel of Death. And it was Cain he had to thank for still being alive. Whatever he told Chloe earlier to convince her that Cain would protect him, he had to admit that he still had doubts about the damned man's involvement in the whole affair. But the evidence was now indisputable, Cain was not in league with his sister, and he had kept his word to protect him.

After making sure Azrael had really left, Lucifer turned his gaze to Cain's inanimate body sprawled on the floor.

"You can stop playing dead now, she's gone," joked Lucifer.

But the man didn’t even steer. On closer inspection, Lucifer could see Cain's eyes still open and staring lifelessly at nothing. Doubt crossed his mind as he wondered if the damned man had finally managed to die as he dreamed of.

His doubts, however, were short-lived, for barely thirty seconds after he lost his life, Cain took a deep noisy breath. He immediately brought his hands to his chest where a gaping wound could be seen right over his heart. He was only able to emit long groans of pain as he looked around to assess the danger. Seeing that Azrael was nowhere in sight and that Lucifer was observing him calmly, he closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again and getting up painfully.

"The bitch! I should have hit her harder when I had the chance." He staggered a bit before finding his balance.

Lucifer put his pride aside. "Thanks for standing up to her and saving my skin, I wasn’t sure you would actually do it."

"To be honest, I was hoping she’d be able to kill me. After that, she could have done whatever she wanted with you and I wouldn’t have mind. But since she didn’t possess that kind of power, it seemed more judicious for me to hold my part of our bargain."

Lucifer chuckled despite the situation. "At least you have the merit of being honest."

Seeing that Cain was about to sit next to him on the couch, he stopped him in his progress.

"Before you sit down, how about you poor us a drink to celebrate our victory? I've been dreaming of one since I'm stuck on this couch."

Pierce winced, both in pain and frustration at being used as the Devil’s lackey. But the prospect of a good whisky attracted him as much as it did the Fallen Angel. So he went back to the bar to look for an untouched bottle of the precious alcohol that they both liked, and poured them large glasses. He returned to the couch where he presented a tumbler to Lucifer before slumping heavily beside him.

Lucifer raised his whisky for a toast. "To our strange association!"

Cain rolled his eyes as he clanged his glass against Lucifer’s. "Don’t go thinking that I carry you in my heart."

"Far from me to get this idea, don’t worry." Lucifer finally brought the alcohol to his lips. It had rarely tasted so good. He felt as if he was already getting better.

"The reason I protected you is only because I’m still hoping that you succeed in finding a solution to my problem." Cain too tasted the delicious alcohol and voiced a slight moan of satisfaction.

"I am well aware of this and I’m ready to start addressing this issue as soon as I have recovered from my unpleasant actual situation. In this regard, do you think you could stay awake tonight while I regain some of my strength?"

Cain growled at this idea. "If I really must, but the night is promising to be long and painful for me."

An idea then crossed Lucifer's mind. "I might have something to help keeping you awake all night and relieve the pain. I still have a little cocaine and a few Speed pills that I haven’t touched in a while, if you're interested."

Cain raised an eyebrow as he seriously considered the offer. "And do you have a television?"

"No, but I have a well packed library that is sure to entertain you all night."

The man shrugged his shoulders as if to say «why not?» "Ok, I’ll take all your remaining illegal substances. I'll probably need a lot of it."

Then they sat quietly, drinking their glasses in silence for a while.

"Are you going to tell me what is this strange rock that has the power to hurt an angel, or do you intend to keep it a secret?" The Devil ventured.

Cain seemed to debate the matter internally before answering with a question. "Do you know what celestial weapons are made of?"

Lucifer frowned, surprised by the turn of the conversation. "If I remember correctly, the blacksmiths used an extremely rare metal, unknown to this planet and called Vharlnarhiûm."

Cain smiled enigmatically while taking the famous rock out of his pocket. It was a little bigger than an orange, with several sharp edges. At first Lucifer had thought it to be white, but now he could see how it was rather composed of a gray rocky base mixt with another white and shining component.

"Does it remind you of something?" Cain asked.

As rarely as he had had the chance to observe the celestial metal, yet there couldn’t be any doubt possible; this rock was full of the precious brilliant metal that possessed such extraordinary powers.

He was utterly astonished. How could a human gotten a hold of this extraterrestrial treasure? "This is simply impossible!" 

Cain looked very proud of his effect. "For millennia, I've been looking for meteorites containing this precious metal. Very few of them contain it, but over the time I was able to recover some. When I first heard about its unique properties supposedly allowing it to kill angels, I undertook the task of finding enough of it to have a sword forged. In my quest for revenge against God, I clung to the idea of one day killing Him with such a weapon."

Lucifer's eyes widened in amazement. "What, you want to kill my father?" He considered the idea. "Not that I mind that much, all things considered."

"Wanted, to kill him! But I gave up on the idea a long time ago, when I finally accepted the fact that I deserved my punishment. Still, I kept these rocks, thinking they could perhaps be useful someday. I never really tested their power until today. I'm glad to see that it really works."

Lucifer could barely believe it. Never had he even glimpsed at the possibility that this metal could be accessible to humans. The consequences could be disastrous.

"And have you found enough of it to make a sword at last?"

"No, not really. Maybe I could forge a dagger at the most."

It was a relief to hear that this metal was still extremely rare on this planet. Life on Earth would certainly become quite complicated for him if it were easy to craft weapons capable of killing the Devil. Lucifer took a mental note not to antagonise the damned man too much in the future.

They both took refuge in a comfortable silence, enjoying their whisky. Once his drink finished, Cain took care of his own wound and applied a bandage to contain the bleeding. It would certainly take him much longer than Lucifer to heal, but that would not stop him from going about his business, even though the pain was promising to be an ordeal in itself. After that, he helped Lucifer to get to his bed, where the Devil quickly sank into a deep recovering sleep.

Cain installed himself in an armchair in the corner of the bedroom to keep his eyes on his charge. Armed with a few books, a bottle of whisky, and more drugs than could be needed to stay awake for a whole week, Cain prepared himself for one of the longest nights of his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, how do you like my idea about the rock? The fact that Cain was collecting rocks always nagged at me, so I developed that theory to explain it better. You’ll get more answers to Ella’s secret in next chapter, or the following one, not sure exactly since I can get carried away sometimes, but it will be soon. Thanks for reading!


	8. Caught Red Handed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes I know, it's been more than 6 months since I wrote anything about that story, and I am deeply sorry for the long wait. I had other projects underway, but now that these are over I will be able to focus entirely on this story until the end. I hope you’ll like this little chapter. Enjoy!

The journey to LUX seemed to be taking forever. Chloe wiped once more her sweaty hands over her wrinkled dress. Again, she tried to convince herself that the fact that Lucifer was not answering his messages meant nothing in itself, and that he could only be fine. He was the Devil after all, invulnerable and immortal, at least when she was not around. Amenadel’s confidence in Lucifer’s capacity to regenerate and thus escape death comforted her slightly. Strangely, the angel seemed more nervous about arriving unexpectedly at the penthouse than about the possibility that his brother could be in actual danger. In fact, Amenadiel had deployed a disproportionate amount of energy to try and dissuade her of going there so early. Yet, he hadn’t given her any real arguments, which on the contrary reinforced the young woman's will to get there now. He knew something and he was hiding it badly. It wasn’t knowing her very well to think that she would wait patiently in this seedy motel while worrying about her partner who could be needing her. 

Chloe glanced at the fallen angel driving beside her. He was staring at the road straight ahead with a frustrated frown still present on his face. A sympathetic smile grazed the detective's lips. She had not spared him last night with her incessant questioning, and now she was pushing him to do something against his will. He could have refused, but he was there, apparently still determined to protect her. 

Chloe had managed to extirpate from him some information and in return, she’d told him everything that happened with Azrael and the Sinnerman. Amenadiel had clarified quite a few things that she had not been certain of understanding from the conversation between Lucifer and his sister which had taken place while she was being held hostage by the Sinnerman. The state of mind in which she’d been at that moment had not allowed her to assimilate everything that had been said. Lucifer did clarify several points afterwards, but hadn’t get the chance to explain everything. It had taken Amenadiel almost the entire night to satisfy the Detective’s thirst for answers. But now, this whole story seemed a lot clearer to her, as incredible as it might appear. 

To put her thoughts in order, Chloe asked Amenadiel to start from the beginning with the heavenly war during which Lucifer rebelled against what he then called his Father’s tyranny. The dark angel confirmed that his brother’s quest for free will had degenerated beyond anything any of them could have foreseen, ending in a bloodbath and the death of many of them, including Azrael’s twin sister, Raziel. To that day, The Angel of Death had always sustained a boundless hatred for that brother responsible for the disappearance of the most precious person in her life. 

Amenadiel avoided telling Chloe too much about celestial beings and the Silver City, and she didn’t try to push him either. Starting from what she already knew about Lucifer, Amenadiel went over past events back from the beginning of their partnership a little more than two years ago. 

To Chloe’s astonishment, Amenadiel confessed his responsibility in Malcolm's return from the underworld and the events that ensued. A part of her was furious with him for what Trixie and she had been through by his fault, but in spite of herself, another part of her sympathized with him. She understood that the angel had probably fallen because of these actions, and if the emotion that could be read on his face while talking about it was any indication, he still felt terrible about what he’d done. 

Then came the incredible chapter of the Goddess of all creation, parading on Earth as Charlotte Richards after having escaped from Hell. Chloe still had a hard time believing that Lucifer had the power to send his mother to another universe by using a magic dagger. Amenadiel also told about the circumstances having led Lucifer to kill his brother Uriel to protect his mother and herself as well as the deep pain that this act had caused him. She could hardly believe everything Lucifer had done for her in the shadows, without her ever suspecting anything. 

The story of Lucifer's kidnapping, followed by his awakening in the desert with his wings back and his devil's face missing made Chloe realize something important; Lucifer had already tried to prove his identity to her. But he only realized then that his Devil's face was gone. He’d trusted her enough to reveal everything, but she had rejected him without any consideration, believing that he was playing her. Chloe winced at this shameful memory. According to Amenadiel, Lucifer had never resigned himself to show her his wings as a proof of his true nature, refusing to be identified as an angel. Amenadiel had even let slip that Lucifer had tried to get rid of his wings many times by mutilating himself. Tears rose to Chloe's eyes at the realization of the level of anxiety her partner must have suffered during these last months to come to the point of harming himself. 

She was ashamed of not having seen or understood anything of his difficulties and of having as good as abandoned him through all those trials. But she was not going to abandon him now. Devil or not, he was her friend and she could not bring herself to see him otherwise. She knew enough about him by now to understand that he was not the vile and perfidious being described by the Holy Scriptures and depicted in every cultures. She had gone through every emotions since the discovery of her partner’s true identity, ranging from sadness to anger, going through confusion and stupefaction, but the fear of Lucifer had never been one of them. 

However, Chloe would have been lying to herself if she’d said she didn’t feel overwhelmed by everything. She found herself in the middle of a celestial battle between angels and demons, while being no more than a vulnerable human without any chance of making a difference. Not to mention the fact that she was putting Lucifer's life at risk by simply being at his side. Everything considered, she thought it was probably a stupid idea to go back to him now, but she could not help it, she had to make sure he was okay. There would still be time for her to step back afterwards as to ensure Lucifer's safety. 

According to Amenadiel, she now knew almost everything. Nevertheless, despite all the detective’s attempts to make him talk, there was still a subject for which the angel had remained stubbornly closed-mouthed; Lucifer’s marriage with Candy. He refused to explain the reason that pushed Lucifer to leave the city to take refuge in Vegas and marry a stripper. When she thought about it, Chloe realised she would rather have Lucifer make that confession himself anyway, and she was planning to discuss this with him as soon as the circumstances allowed her. 

Truth be told, she already suspected that Lucifer had distanced himself from her in this less than subtle way to make her understand that nothing serious could ever exist between them. The message had been received loud and clear, and was even better understood now that she knew who he was. He was not human. And so, even though she’d always thought it to be exaggerated on his part, she now suspected that his difficulties in experiencing and dealing with human emotions had to be real. She increasingly believed that he probably was incapable of true love. However, she was ready to accept whatever he could give her, even if it would ever be only friendship and the utmost devotion he’d never ceased to accord her from the very first day. To know that she was that important to him, as he had so openly declared and demonstrated, should suffice her. Anyways, it would have been utterly absurd to cultivate the fantasy of a possible love story with a celestial being... Better for her to land back on earth and pursue dreams in her reach, such as to develop a healthy relationship with a normal man such as Marcus. She should probably call him back to plan another dinner as to give them a real chance. 

Furthermore, Amenadiel also remained evasive in regard to the mysterious Cain, supposedly Lucifer's friend, and to whom she heard the Sinnerman refer. The two men seemed to know each other, though the new demon hadn’t appear to be keeping Cain in his heart. She at least learned that this biblical being was the very first murderer of humanity and that God had sentenced him to roam the Earth for eternity as punishment for his sin. She only hoped that Lucifer was right about the value of this immortal being and that he could indeed be trusted. 

If anything bad had happened to Lucifer during the night... she swore to hunt down that famous Cain and send him straight to Hell! 

Lost in thoughts, Chloe didn’t realize until the last second that they had finally arrived at LUX. She hurried to get out of the car while Amenadiel could only do his best to keep up with her. It was barely 8am and the club was of course still desert at this early hour. Anxious as ever, Chloe hastened to call the elevator and head towards the penthouse. Beside her, Amenadiel could not hide his own nervousness. 

As soon as the elevator’s doors opened, Chloe rushed inside the apartment. She literally stopped breathing when her eyes landed on a few broken bottles beside the bar. An obvious sign of struggle. To top it off, she couldn’t see her partner anywhere. Feeling the panic quickly rising inside her, she tried to control her trembling voice. Yet, all the extent of her fear could be heard in it.

"LUCIFER?" She almost shouted. 

To her greatest relief, her devilish partner rushed outside his bedroom, shirt half-buttoned up and clearly worried at the young woman's anxious tone. 

On his guards, he scanned the room to try and spot any threat. Finding none, he turned his attention back on Chloe. 

"What's going on, Detective, is everything all right?" 

As an answer, Chloe rushed into his arms and embraced him. He was so surprised by her gesture that he failed to formulate any of his usual innuendo. It even took him a few seconds to return her hug. But this little moment of tenderness only lasted a few seconds before the detective released her hold to give him a once over. 

"You look fine, thank God!"

Lucifer winced at her words. "Believe me when I say that my Father has absolutely nothing to do with it." 

Chloe ignored his words and started lifting his shirt up. 

"Hello there! Someone missed me!" He cooed. 

Chloe turned him around a little rougher than necessary to better visualize his bandage. "Don’t be ridiculous Lucifer, I just want to assess your injury." 

He would have liked to tell about everything he could show her of his anatomy, but remembered that this kind of silly jokes would probably not serve him right in his project of seduction. So he settled on a more acceptable reply. 

"I assure you, I feel better, Detective. Such wound inflicted by an infernal dagger should still take a few days to mend. But it almost stopped bleeding already and is on good way to heal." As a matter of fact, his bandage didn’t show any trace of blood. 

Biting her lower lip, Chloe nodded her head vigorously as if trying to convince herself of what he was saying. 

Lucifer softened his tone and squeezed one of Chloe's hands between his. "Don’t worry Detective, I’m out of the woods now." 

A smile finally appeared on his partner’s lips when she looked him in the eyes. "Yes, you do look better, your colors are back." 

Lucifer returned her sweet smile without taking his eyes off hers or letting go of her hand. They both looked at each other lovingly for a long while, neither of them seeming ready to break the mood. 

Unfortunately, this sweet moment of intimacy got abruptly interrupted by a male voice coming from the adjacent bathroom. 

"Lucifer, can you get me my clothes? I think I left them in the bedroom." 

Rendered speechless, Chloe stared at Lucifer to try and understand what was going on. He looked suspiciously nervous. And strangely, Chloe had the impression that this masculine voice sounded somehow familiar. 

A few seconds later, hearing no answer from Lucifer, the occupant of the bathroom opened the door to make himself better heard. 

"Lucifer...!" But his request was cut short when he discovered Chloe at the entrance of the bedroom, staring at him with disbelief written all over her face.

Marcus seemed at least as much surprised as she was. There was only a towel around his waist, and his naked torso as well as his hair were still wet, probably from having taken a shower. He opened then closed his mouth a few times, unable to find words. The perfect image of someone caught red handed. 

"Bloody Hell!" Exclaimed Lucifer. He releasing Chloe’s inert hand and sighed dejectedly. 

He glared at Amenadiel who had just reached the first steps leading to the bedroom, probably to see what was going on. 

"Don’t put the blame on me, Luci. I tried to warn you but you never answered any of my messages. Besides, you know very well that no one can stop Chloe from doing anything she’s set her mind on." 

Lucifer couldn’t contradict him about that. 

Chloe stared at Marcus and Lucifer in turn a few times, to try to understand the relationship that linked them. She searched for a simple and harmless explanation to account for Marcus' presence here, but couldn’t imagine any. To her utmost dismay, as much as she would have liked to deny the possibility, there was only one conclusion she could reach; everything seemed to indicate that the two men she was attracted to were involved in a romantic relationship! 

"This is a nightmare!" She managed to verbalize, taking a few steps back from Lucifer. 

The two men narrowed their eyes questioningly as they tried to decipher where the young woman's sharp mind had taken her. Their eyes widened at the exact same time as they realized what she was suggesting. 

"It’s not what it looks like!" Both guilty parties exclaimed as one. 

Of course they would say something like that! Chloe ran her fingers through her hair, in complete shock. She thought she should have realized it before. They’d probably simulated their aversion for each other to avoid suspicion. And now that she was thinking about it, Lucifer's apparent fit of jealousy had probably never been about her dating someone but rather all about Marcus. How blind and naive had she been! She felt like her world was being completely turned upside down. 

She was brought back to reality by Lucifer who grabbed her shoulders firmly to get her attention. 

"Detective, don’t be ridiculous! The Lieutenant and I never indulged into an intimate relationship." 

"But..." She finally remembered that Lucifer never lied. She tried to find a loophole in her partner’s words that could have allowed him to dodge the truth but couldn’t see any. 

"I don’t understand, if you haven’t spent the night together, then what is he doing here?" She finally looked at Marcus as if to address her question to both men and it was he who answered. 

"Chloe, I assure you that nothing happened between us. Yet I did spend the night here, but only to protect Lucifer. I discovered his secret some time ago and I owed him a service. That’s why he contacted me last night so I could protect him from his sister while he regenerated. Nothing more." 

For a moment, Chloe was ashamed to learn that Marcus had guessed Lucifer's secret after only a few months of working with him when she hadn’t seen anything in more than two years. But then, she really became aware of the Lieutenant's words... 

Stroke by incomprehension, she turned to the Devil. "I thought you said you were to call Cain to protect you." 

Lucifer's reaction was almost comical. Almost. "Haaa... heuuu!" 

Marcus' response was hardly more eloquent. The two men remained petrified, unable to provide a coherent explanation. 

That's when she finally understood. 

She stared at Marcus as if she was seeing him for the very first time and whispered in awe.

"You are Cain!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had this scene in mind for almost a year, in which Chloe surprises them in a compromising situation. I HAD to write it! I couldn’t help it. I hope you enjoyed. Your reviews and comments are always much appreciated. Thank you for reading this story!


	9. Grand Declarations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Here is a small chapter full of heartfelt declarations and in which the plot will unfurl a bit more. To better appreciate it, remember that this story started the night Lucifer discovered Pierce’s identity, so the Cain I am revealing is slightly different than the one in the show. I hope you’ll enjoy!

A heavy silence enveloped them for a long moment during which everyone seemed to be holding their breaths, until Chloe exploded with anger.

"I can’t believe this! How can something like that even be possible? Both men I’m falling for turn out to be immortals. And not just any men; the Devil himself and humanity’s first murder!"

Holding her head with both hands, she started walking to and fro in the bedroom, visibly on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

Lucifer could not help but notice that she had spoken in the present tense, as if she could still have a romantic interest in him. Or did she rather meant that she had been until learning his true nature? He couldn’t say. But he definitely didn’t like the little smile that just appeared on Pierce's lips at hearing the young woman's words. As if he needed to be reminded that Chloe was attracted to the damned man!

Fortunately, the detective’s words visibly made Cain lose his illusions, although the Devil’s owns were also properly destroyed at the same time.

"Damn! Really, could I have done any worse even if I’d wanted to? What's wrong with me?"

Lucifer tried to ignore the appalling feeling that overwhelmed him at hearing this most significant statement to instead focus on his partner’s distress.

He took a step towards Chloe, raising a hand to stop her in her incessant comings and goings.

"Detective, don’t ever think that you are to blame in this whole story. You have nothing to be ashamed of, quite the contrary."

He had managed to capture her attention. She had stopped a few paces away, staring at him with haggard eyes and trembling lips. He continued in a softer tone full of sincerity and an overwhelming emotion that he found himself unable to contain.

"I have never met a soul as pure as yours in my very long existence. The simple fact that you can discern the good in such imperfect beings as us is the proof of your greatness. How could we not be taken by you? Your mere presence is like a beacon in the darkness for damned beings like us..."

Chloe was completely lost for words and her anger dissipated as quickly as it had appeared. Never had anyone told her something so beautiful. Her doubts about her own worth were effectively diminished, if somehow only in part. And what did he meant by «taken by her»? What could the Devil really feel for her?

Pierce cleared his throat to distract them. He adjusted the towel around his waist, visibly uncomfortable to have such a conversation in this state. "Lucifer is right, Chloe. You are an exceptional being and it is a privilege for me to be in your life. I’m just hoping to continue doing so for as long as possible."

Once again, Chloe was left speechless by the statement.

Pierce continued. "And for what it's worth, I'm sorry that you had to discover my secret this way. I’d have much preferred to tell you myself, which I assuredly would have done the moment our relationship took a more serious turn. I certainly wouldn’t have waited years to tell you the truth." This last comment was clearly directed to Lucifer's attention.

"Easy to say now that you are faced with the fait accompli," the Devil replied sharply.

Outraged, Pierce was about to object, but Chloe physically interfered between the two men before the situation escalated into a real argument.

"Ok guys, calm down! If there's anyone here who is entitled to be angry, it's certainly not you, but me. So I won’t stand seeing you two act out at each other. Is that understood?"

Like two kids properly reprimanded, both immortals reluctantly nodded in silence.

Chloe closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again. Her situation felt totally surreal. Two half-naked immortal beings seemed to be fighting over her attention and favors. Her gaze finally turned back to Marcus, or rather Cain, she corrected herself mentally. She still couldn’t conceive having felt attracted to a murderer, even though the deed had occurred thousands of years ago. But maybe Lucifer was right and she was just able to see the good in Cain, as she was definitely able to see it in her devilish partner. Be that as it may, her hopes of developing a healthy relationship with a perfectly normal man had just gone up in smoke, at least for the near future.

It was only then that she noticed the deep wound on Marcus' chest. Her eyes widened with concern.

"What the hell happened to you?"

Following her gaze, Marcus quickly realized what she was referring to. "Oh! This? It's nothing. It's only the Angel of Death who didn’t really appreciate my intervention of yesterday as she was trying to kill Lucifer," he replied nonchalantly.

"What? Azrael came here?" She suddenly turned around to Lucifer to look at him again from head to toe and make sure he had not concealed a new wound from her. He was standing upright though, and his partially uncovered torso beneath his barely buttoned shirt didn’t show any marks, nor did his lower body covered only by a pair of boxers.

He reassured her immediately. "Don’t worry, Detective, my sister didn’t get the chance to hurt me. I have to admit that Cain here has been holding onto his end of our deal and probably saved my life doing so." He could not help sneering at the admission.

Chloe didn’t really know where to start her questioning in the face of everything she had just heard. "Well, it looks like you both have a lot to tell me, which you will do in great details until I am completely satisfied."

With her unequivocal tone, it never occurred to the two men to question the fact that she would indeed extirpate from them all the information she wanted.

Chloe frowned, looking at each of them in turn, increasingly aware of their almost naked state. The possibility that both men had an affair together once again crossed her mind and she shuddered at the idea. Despite Lucifer's absolute denial, she was still not entirely convinced that nothing had happened between them. Her partner was far too talented at concealing the truth. And she realized that she didn’t value Marcus's word very much, considering everything he had probably hid from her since they knew each other.

"But before we start this discussion," she added, "do us all a favor and get both dressed!

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sitting on a chair, Chloe was facing them while Lucifer and Pierce sat on the couch side by side. Now properly dressed, thank you very much, each of them had a glass of alcohol in hand despite the early hour. Amenadiel was staying slightly apart beside the bar, listening intently to his brother's explanations about the events of the night before, which Pierce punctuated here and there with some more details. Chloe conducted the questioning with a masterful hand, so much so that without their noticing or being able to prevent it, the conversation turned to Pierce's involvement into the Sinnerman’s case and to the mysterious deal binding the former to Lucifer. 

Chloe was relieved to hear that Marcus was looking for redemption and that it was this motivation that drove him to make a deal with the Devil. She might not have been as wrong as she’d feared about the millennial murderer after all. At least, she hoped so.

After listening to all their explanations, Chloe remained silent for a moment to analyze the whole situation.

She finally turned to Marcus and stared at him seriously. "So, if I understand correctly, you were never really in danger when you saved my life the day we were shot at?"

At the expression of surprise on Pierce's face, it was obvious that he had not seen that question coming. "Actually... I was not quite certain of that at the time," he replied evasively.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, after arriving in LA to track down Damien, I did some researches on Lucifer to better know his habits and abilities. That’s how I learned recently that he had been injured and even probably killed in your presence. I admit that for a moment, I thought you could perhaps be the solution to my problem. I did really want to save your life that day, but I also took the opportunity to test my hypothesis that you could make me mortal as you do with Lucifer. Obviously, this was not the case and I still wonder why..."

Chloe's eyes widened in shock. "You were hoping to die?" She suddenly remembered hearing the Sinnerman say that Cain regretted his immortality.

Cain sighed. "An eternal life is very long for a human being, Chloe. I was hoping that by dying I might finally be able to go to Heaven, if God granted me forgiveness at long last. And truthfully, the idea of waking up in Hell instead didn’t frighten me so much anymore. After all, it couldn’t be much worse than to wander on this Earth for eternity."

Amenadiel approached him, sneering contemptuously. "Don’t delude yourself, Cain. As long as you bear the mark of your curse, the only place where you could end up if you died is indeed Hell! And that's certainly not where you'll find your redemption, believe me."

Cain raised his head as if to challenge him. "And what do you know about that?"

Amenediel stared at him mightily. "More than you do, obviously."

For a moment, the damned man gave the impression of wanting to pour out his anger on the black angel, but changed his mind. "So tell me, where can I find it then?" He asked simply.

Cain nodded slowly at Amenadiel’s silence. "That's what I thought. You don’t know that much after all. Even though, lately I've come to believe that I might not have been looking for redemption in the right place during all those years. It might be that..." and at those words he turned to glance into Chloe's eyes," ...there is a chance, that it could really be on this Earth that I’ll finally find it."

The way Cain drowned in her eyes with that dreamy look and that sweet smile overwhelmed Chloe completely. It was not every day that one realized being considered as someone’s possible redemption. The notion was both exhilarating and terrifying.

It was Lucifer's turn to clear his throat, without any subtlety, to break that intense moment that was becoming embarrassing.

"No need to be so dramatic, Cain. I said I would help you find a way to earn your redemption and I always keep my word."

Reluctantly, Pierce broke his gaze away from Chloe's to answer the Devil. "Even though, I haven’t seen you working very hard on this problem yet," he said sarcastically.

"It's not like you're in a hurry!" Lucifer threw at him, irritated.

Providence had it that this escalating argument got cut off by Maze’s arrival.

"Haaa! I was wondering what happened with you," exclaimed Lucifer curiously.

"Decker didn’t tell you? I was only securing the perimeter. We wouldn’t want to be caught unaware by those wandering ghosts."

"What?" Lucifer couldn’t understand his demoness’ words.

Instead of answering, Maze walked straight to the bar where she chose one of the best bottle of scotch and poured herself a large glass. Amenadiel took the relay to tell of his encounter of the night before with a spirit in the alley just outside of LUX.

Maze needed a little pick-me-up after this endless night. After joining Chloe and Amenadiel at the motel, she’d spent the night protecting them by patrolling the area. Nothing suspicious happened, but now that they were all back at the penthouse in the open, the danger had increased exponentially. The day promised to be quite interesting...

Amenediel’s conclusions made sense, thought Lucifer; it could only be a deceased soul, as it also had to be the case for the being he had himself crossed path with on the beach the day before, and they were obviously working for Azrael.

"Doesn’t this story remind you of anything, Decker?" Inquired Pierce, who had listened very carefully to the whole tale.

Chloe looked at him without understanding where he was going with this.

"I mean, don’t you think it's a strange coincidence that we’d be investigating the death of two experienced detectives specialized in tailing who apparently killed themselves, but whose families claim to have been in contact with afterwards? I already had my doubts about the possibility that they were ghosts, but now it all makes sense."

"What? You think these two guys could be our spirits?" Now that she stopped to think about it, it was quite plausible and even logical, though totally bewildering. She thought she should have think about it herself, but to her defense, she had been more than distracted by all the revelations she had to juggle with since discovering her partner’s true nature and everything that came with it.

"It's possible...," she concluded, "but how could a dead soul communicate with the livings since very few of us can see them?"

Surprised and intrigued by the fact that Chloe and Pierce were investigating such a case, it was Lucifer who answered her. "It's very possible, especially if the souls are aware of their new state, as they should if they work for my sister. With a little focussing and determination, a spirit can interact with his environment and affect it, for example moving objects, touching someone, or even appear in front of a loved one for a few seconds. So it's quite possible that your investigation could be linked to this whole affair. Would you, by any chance, have a picture of those dead men?"

Chloe looked at Marcus, who shook his head negatively. "Unfortunately not on us," she replied to Lucifer, "but we could always ask Ella to send us some. She said she was going to do some analysis this weekend to confirm the identity of both corpses, so she should be at the precinct this morning."

Pierce hastened to reach Ella who sent him a picture of both alleged dead men. Lucifer and Amenadiel leaned over the Lieutenant's cell phone screen to observe the photos.

"That's the man I saw on the beach!" Lucifer declared triumphantly.

"And this one definitely is the guy who ran away from me last night. I'm sure of it." Amenadiel confirmed.

Pierce nodded thoughtfully. "Now that we know who they are, it gives us an advantage."

Lucifer didn’t look so sure about that. "It's all well and good, but I don’t see how it could help us in the end. Now that they know we’ve spotted them, they will be much more cautious."

A plan was beginning to form in Chloe's mind. "Actually, they have no idea that we know their identities, so it's very possible that one of them will simply not approach Lucifer while the other one only has to avoid Amenadiel. And if that’s the case, we could use that to our advantage. But to do so, and if another of my intuitions proves to be right, we'll need Ella...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, Chloe definitely is in deep trouble with her two suitors fighting to win her heart and it will certainly be a handful dealing with them both :)
> 
> I will reveal Ella’s secret in the next chapter, which will be quite different from what you saw in the show since I elaborated this story before the release of the episode «Boo Normal». Please let me know if you liked this chapter. Your feedbacks always make my day. Thanks for reading!


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